Rep. Wolf Takes Stance Against Toll Increase

U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) has urged the State Corporation Commission to reject a proposed toll increase on the Dulles Greenway, saying it would make the road one of the nation's most expensive toll highways per mile of travel.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the state regulatory agency, Wolf called the increases sought by the Greenway's private operator "exceedingly high and unreasonable."

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors also weighed in Tuesday, passing a resolution opposing the increases. The resolution also asks the SCC to hold a public hearing in Loudoun so residents would not have to travel far to be able to voice concerns.

The road's operator, Toll Road Investors Partnership II, or TRIP II, filed its application with the SCC in July. Under its proposal, the one-way toll for passenger cars during non-peak hours would increase from the current $2.70 to $3.40 on Jan. 1, 2009; to $3.70 on July 1, 2010; and to $4 on Jan. 1, 2012. Cars would be charged about 20 percent more during peak weekday travel times, or a one-way toll of $4.80 in 2012.

TRIP II has increased tolls six times since the 1996 opening of the Greenway, which is the state's only privately owned toll road and runs 14 miles from Leesburg to Dulles International Airport. This is the first time Wolf has come out against a Greenway toll increase.

Wolf, whose district includes Loudoun, northern Fauquier County and parts of Fairfax County, said the proposed rate of $4.80 would represent a toll of 34 cents a mile. He compared that with Maryland's rate of 5 cents a mile for a round trip on a 50-mile portion of Interstate 95 north of Baltimore; the New Jersey Turnpike's rate of less than 6 cents a mile to travel the turnpike's entire 113 miles; and the rate of less than 3 cents a mile on the Indiana Toll Road, which is under a 75-year lease held by a company based in Australia.

Wolf also said the current $2.70 toll is generating $63 million a year in revenue for TRIP II. If the number of trips on the Greenway remained the same, a $4.80 toll would bring in more than $112 million a year, he said.

"While I realize that a company is in business to make a profit, is it reasonable for an increase to generate that kind of profit?" Wolf wrote.

Ann Huggins-Lawler, a spokeswoman for the company, said the increases were necessary to offset operating costs on the highway, which receives neither state nor federal funding.

"We pay property taxes, real estate taxes and liability insurance," Huggins-Lawler said Tuesday. She added that average daily traffic on the Greenway from January to July was down 6 percent compared with the same period last year.

Huggins-Lawler said Wolf's comparisons with other toll roads were flawed.

"Comparing older projects such as the New Jersey Turnpike -- that are well established and supplemented by the state department of transportation -- to ones that are privately financed is not a valid comparison," Huggins-Lawler said.

In moving for approval of the Board of Supervisors' resolution, Chairman Scott K. York (I) said the rush-hour surcharge "unfairly punishes Loudoun County commuters using one of the few traffic arteries available to them connecting their homes and their jobs."

The SCC has received more than 100 public comments on the proposal since the comment period began Aug. 9, with most opposing TRIP II's application, said SCC spokesman Ken Schrade. The deadline to submit comments, by mail or e-mail, is Sept. 28.