Loudoun Fights Plan To Raise Greenway Tolls During Coronavirus

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County opposes a rate hike request by the owners of the Dulles Greenway, a 14-mile road that connects the Dulles Toll Road to communities in Ashburn and terminates in Leesburg. The county contends the owners of the private road should not be trying to "rush through" a rate hike at a time when the region is dealing with the coronavirus crisis.

Loudoun County has filed a request with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which has regulatory oversight over the private road, for an extension of time until Oct. 2 to file direct testimony in the case and also to reschedule the public hearings for later in the year.

“It is insensitive of TRIP II to rush through this proceeding to raise tolls on the Greenway at a time when everyone’s financial future is uncertain due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall said Wednesday in a statement. “A toll rate increase of this magnitude would put a heavy economic burden on workers in Loudoun County, many of whom may not be getting a paycheck for the next few months.”

TRIP II stands for Toll Road Investors Partnership II LP, an Australia-based company that owns the Greenway. TRIP II is seeking a 6 to 6.8-percent toll rate increase each year over the next five years, which is an increase of about one-third in toll rates over that period.

TRIP II has refused the county’s request to reschedule the current proceedings, which include an evidentiary hearing before the State Corporation Commission in June. The opportunities for public input are currently set for May while Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's stay-at-home order is scheduled to stay in effect through early June.

In a March 31 filing in the case before the State Corporation Commission, TRIP II said it "understands the need for flexibility in these unprecedented times and does not seek to minimize the importance of the County’s efforts in the face of the unprecedented demands being placed on all levels of government as well as businesses and individuals within the Commonwealth at this time."

But TRIP II said it does not believe the coronavirus crisis should stand in the way of the company's "ability to have its Application heard by the Commission in a timely manner under the schedule that the Commission determined to be appropriate" before the coronavirus became a serious crisis for the county.

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TRIP II owns and operates the Dulles Greenway under a certificate of authority issued by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation. The road opened for operations in September 1995, becoming the first privately owned and operated toll road within the state since 1816.

TRIP II is owned and operated by two investment funds managed by affiliates of Australia-based Macquarie Group Limited: Macquarie Atlas Roads and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.

In response to the company's filing, Loudoun County Administrator Tim Hemstreet said the county "simply does not have the time needed to prepare for the hearing."

“Every facet of the Loudoun County government has been focused 24/7 on mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting the health and safety of our residents, businesses and county employees, while still providing essential and critical services to our community,” Hemstreet said in a statement.

Under the current SCC schedule, which was adopted before the COVID-19 crisis, the county had about a month from the time that it intervened to prepare its case for fighting the toll rate increase. The county requested an extension because its resources have been redirected to the pandemic response.

“The Greenway never fails to disappoint, but this may be a new low,” said Dulles District Supervisor Matt Letourneau, who also serves as chairman of the board’s Finance/Government Operations and Economic Development Committee. “The last thing Loudoun residents need right now is another toll increase."

Letourneau said the county will fight the rate case. "[D]uring this unprecedented time it is impossible to obtain accurate traffic counts and make this process fair," he said. "I know our staff will do the best job they can, but their focus should be on dealing with the daily challenges of COVID-19, not preparing for a comprehensive toll rate case.”

County Attorney Leo Rogers said county officials are perplexed by the company's refusal to change the public hearing schedule when the entire country is dealing with the coronavirus crisis. "[T]here is no reason the decision whether to increase toll prices must be made immediately,” he aid.

If hearings were permitted to be held in May as currently scheduled, the public’s right to comment on the toll increases will be severely compromised, the county said.

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