3 Public Hearings Set on Greenway Toll Increase

The state agency that will decide whether the one-way toll on the Dulles Greenway should be increased to a rush-hour rate of $4.80 by 2012 has scheduled three public hearings for early next year.

The State Corporation Commission will hold two public hearings at the Loudoun County Government Center in Leesburg on Jan. 30, one at 9:30 a.m. and one at 2 p.m. The third hearing will be at the SCC's Richmond headquarters at 10 a.m. March 13.

Speakers will be invited to give their opinions on the request by Toll Road Investors Partnership II, or TRIP II, which owns the 14-mile roadway connecting Dulles International Airport to Leesburg, to raise the current $3 cap on the toll.

Under the company's plan, the toll would increase incrementally from Jan. 1, 2009, to Jan. 1, 2012, eventually reaching a cap of $4 for passenger cars during off-peak hours. The rush-hour toll would be 20 percent higher, eventually reaching $4.80 for a one-way trip. Tolls would be higher for vehicles with more than two axles.

The company's proposal has drawn opposition from scores of commuters and more than a half-dozen government bodies and local politicians, many of whom say the toll increases would be an undue hardship for motorists.

Some take particular issue with the proposed rush-hour charge.

"This is the equivalent of charging the roadway's very best customers its highest rates for the privilege of using the road -- not to go joyriding, but to ferry our children to school and get ourselves to work," Del. David E. Poisson (D-Loudoun), told the SCC in a letter.

TRIP II, however, argues that the benefits of the road -- speed, safety and less wear and tear on vehicles -- outweigh the costs that motorists would bear in higher tolls.

What's more, the company has not turned a profit since the Greenway opened in 1995 as the state's first privately owned highway since before the Civil War, and those losses necessitate the toll increase, TRIP II officials say.

"The financial well-being of the Greenway requires it," wrote Richard D. Gary and Charlotte P. McAfee of Hunton & Williams, a Richmond-based law firm representing the company, in a letter filed with the SCC in response to the opposition.

Ultimately, to approve TRIP II's request, the SCC must find that the toll increase is reasonable in relation to the benefit that motorists receive; that usage of the road would not be "materially" discouraged; and that the increased revenue would not represent an unfair windfall for the company.

After hearing from interested parties and a variety of experts, a hearing examiner will make a recommendation to the commission, which will then rule on the increase. That process is likely to take months.

The SCC is also accepting public comments by mail or electronically through Jan. 30. Written correspondence may be sent to: Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, Document Control Center, PO Box 2118, Richmond, Va. 23218, and should refer to case number PUE-2006-00081.

Electronic comments may be submitted on the SCC's Web site, http://www.scc.virginia.gov/caseinfo.htm . Click on the "public comments/notices" link and then the "submit comments" button for the same case number.