Bipartisan Bill Seeks Transparency On Dulles Greenway, Tolls

LEESBURG, VA — With Dulles Greenway toll rates exceeding that what many Loudoun County motorists can afford, a new bipartisan bill introduced on Monday that will be headed to the Virginia legislature in the upcoming session would bring transparency and accountability to the process of how toll hikes are carried out in the future.

The bill is being introduced by Sen. John Bell and Delegate Suhas Subramanyam (D-87th) and if passed, the measure would help address concerns that lawmakers and local officials have had for years with how the 14-mile stretch of tollway that runs between Washington Dulles International Airport and Leesburg is regulated by the group of private investors that own and manage the Greenway.

The Greenway is owned by Toll Road Investors Limited Partnership II and its parent company Atlas Arteria.

In a virtual news conference Monday, officials said that unreasonable rates characterized by former state delegate David Ramadan as “highway robbery” have led to traffic congestion around Loudoun County as motorists have sought other thoroughfares to avoid paying to use the Greenway, which has been in operation since 1995. The bill, meanwhile, would provide fair and long-term solutions to future toll increases and other issues involving the toll road.

Subramanyam said Monday that he and other officials have long heard from constituents related to the unfairness of toll prices on the Greenway, which the bill would address, he said. The bill would also allow the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) and the Virginia Department of Transportation to ensure that toll prices don’t discourage motorists from using the roadway.

“The Greenway just isn’t affordable for the average family,” Subramanyam said during Monday's news conference. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic right now and it has led to an economic fallout for a lot of small businesses and families in Northern Virginia….this (bill) is something that could at least try to address that economic fallout.”

He added: “(This bill) really gets to the core of what this road was supposed to be and gets us in a direction of affordable toll prices for working families.”

The bill, which is a joint effort between Virginia lawmakers and Loudoun County officials, would make it required for any proposed toll rates to be reasonable to motorists in relation to the benefit obtained, not likely to materially discourage use of the toll road and provide the operator no more than a reasonable return, the bill reads.

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Phyllis Randall said Monday that she supports legislation that protects local residents from “unfair and egregious” toll increases on the Greenway, which is the only highway in Virginia that is owned and operated by a private company.

Current tolls for a two-axle vehicle on the Greenway are $5.80 during peak travel times and $4.75 during off-peak periods. On Monday, Bell referred to the issue as being “urgent and pressing” as both lawmakers and local officials continue to push for what Bell called a framework for fair decision-making as it relates to the Greenway.

“The bottom line is that we need to make sure people can get back and forth to work and can get home to their families in a timely manner without paying a tremendous amount of money to do so,” Bell said during Monday’s news conference.

While supporters of the upcoming bill expect lobbyists and other groups in Richmond to do “everything they can to kill” the legislation, officials said they would do everything they can to build enough bipartisan support for the measure to make the Greenway affordable for local residents. A timeline for public hearings on the bill will be upcoming, Subramanyam said Monday. But in the meantime, he and other local officials – along with lawmakers who participated in Monday's news conference — hope to build enough support to get the measure "up over the top of the hill" rather than just facing the uphill climb the issue has faced for the better part of the past eight years.

While local officials said that when improvements are made to county-operated roads, there is a clear path to how upgrades will be paid for. But in the case of the Greenway, a lack of transparency from the toll road’s private owners have placed the burden back on those who use the Greenway in the form of increases in tolls, which could increase anywhere from 6 percent to 6.8 percent between now and 2025. That would increase tolls to $7.90 in peak times and $6.15 in non-peak times.

Randall said Monday the issues involving the Greenway are ones of equity, separated by those who can afford to use the toll road and those who cannot. Those who cannot afford to use the Greenway are the ones most impacted by traffic snarls around Loudoun County because use of the toll road is cost-prohibitive.

Most of the population growth in Loudoun County is along the Greenway corridor, Randall said, which makes finding a way for more motorists to be able to afford the toll road imperative.

“The next step is to help define the process for future toll rate cases with common-sense regulations that create a more level playing field,” Loudoun County Supervisor Matt Letourneau said in a news release announcing the legislation.

“While it has been difficult to get traction in the General Assembly in the past, I am very pleased that our Loudoun delegation, led by Senator Bell and Delegate Subramanyam, are now unified with the county on legislative language and an approach to benefit our residents. The county will be heavily engaged and working closely with them during this year's session to gain passage of this bill.”