Put one way, it sounds like a terrific deal:
For a price increase at the Dulles Toll Road gates of "only a quarter," as some partisans say, motorists could see a $4 billion Metrorail line arise parallel to the roadway, offering a swift travel alternative through Northern Virginia's high-tech corridor.
But for many of the tens of thousands of people who travel the highway each day and hit four tollbooths in a round trip, the math is not quite so simple.
"It's 250 bucks a year extra for me," said Craig Denny, 41, a federal worker who commutes on the toll road between Reston and McLean daily, paying at four tollbooths. "It's utter insanity."
Donna H. Sandin, 66, a translator who works at her Reston home, said, "I spend an average of $181 annually in tolls as it is, and I don't even commute." If tolls rise 66 percent to 100 percent, "that amount is going to go up significantly."
While the idea of building a Metrorail extension in the Dulles corridor appears to enjoy broad public support, the matter of who should pay for it seems far from settled, at least for the public.
State and local leaders have assumed that about 20 percent of the cost of the first phase of the rail project -- from West Falls Church to the eastern edge of Reston -- would come from a 25-cent toll increase at the Dulles Toll Road gates, a proposal that dates back at least to planning reports filed in October 2003.
But somewhat forgotten in the battle over Dulles rail are the toll road motorists. Although politicians have held hearings on the massive, multi-volume rail construction plans, it wasn't until this week that the motoring public specifically was invited to weigh in on the toll increase.
"It's not a 25-cent increase. It's an increase of hundreds of dollars a year for us," said Lauren Treiber, 26, a third-grade teacher who commutes on the road to Montgomery County, as does her husband, separately. "We're not going to use the Metro -- so why are we paying for all these other people?"
Once news broke Feb. 3 that Virginia's transportation board would consider the toll increase at a meeting in Richmond next week, hastily arranged hearings for public comment were set for Reston on Thursday, Leesburg yesterday and Herndon today. If the board approves the increase, it could go into effect as soon as the spring. Tolls would increase from 50 cents to 75 cents at the main toll plaza and from 25 cents to 50 cents at entrance and exit ramps at nine interchanges. The 35-cent toll at Sully Road would increase to 50 cents.
Even rail backers say the toll discussions have been rushed; such critics as Ken Reid, who has started the Web site www.notollincrease.com, say rail advocates are "trying to slip one by."
"We're really disappointed about the lack of time we were given to view all the financing details for the toll increase," said Tracey White, president of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, which has generally supported the rail project. "We knew a toll hike was part of the plan, but we didn't know the specifics until this week."
She and other chamber leaders were crafting a position on the toll increase yesterday afternoon.
"We are looking carefully at issues of fairness, equity and timing," she said.
