Hearings Set on Greenway Toll Plan

Hundreds of motorists have e-mailed the State Corporation Commission to express outrage over a proposed toll increase on the Dulles Greenway.

On Tuesday, they can have their say in person.

The SCC plans two public hearings that day at the County Government Center in Leesburg, one at 2 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m., inviting the public to directly address Howard P. Anderson, the hearing examiner presiding over the case.

An overwhelming majority of the written comments have opposed the increase, and the same pattern is likely at the hearings. In its application to the state, the company that owns the 14-mile Greenway -- Toll Road Investors Partnership II -- is seeking to raise the one-way toll of $2.70 for passenger cars to a maximum of $4.80 by 2012.

"Everything will be entered into the case file," said commission spokesman Andy Farmer, explaining that a court reporter will transcribe the comments from the public hearings and add them to the paperwork that both Anderson and the commission will consider when making their decisions.

Anderson will make a recommendation to the commission later this year, after a hearing March 13 in Richmond during which each side will present evidence supporting its case.

Under the company's proposal, the toll for cars traveling in the non-peak direction during non-peak hours would be increased incrementally starting Jan. 1, 2009, and reach $4 on Jan. 1, 2012. During rush hour, drivers traveling in the peak direction would pay $4.80 by 2012.

The truck rate would go up July 1, 2007. Currently, vehicles with more than two axles pay $5.40 one way. Under the proposed toll schedule, the rate would vary, depending on how many additional axles a vehicle has, with six-axle vehicles paying a one-way toll of $9.45.

Several TRIP II officials will be at Tuesday's hearings, but they will not participate, said Ann Huggins-Lawler, a company spokeswoman.

"It's a public hearing, so we're here to hear [the public's] concerns," she said. "It's their voice to the SCC."

The company argues that the higher toll payments would not exceed the road's benefit to drivers, which is one factor the commission is required to weigh under the 1988 Virginia law that authorized the construction of private toll roads in the state. Drivers save on time, gas and car repairs by taking the 65-mph Greenway instead of an alternative road such as Route 7, the company contends. Its slogan for the toll road is "Don't stress. Just drive."

TRIP II officials also say the increases would not provide an unreasonably high rate of return, another issue the commission is required to consider. The company says it has yet to turn a profit operating the Greenway.

Many drivers and area politicians, however, aren't buying the company's arguments. Among the officials who have sent letters to the commission opposing the increase are U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), state Sen. Mark R. Herring (D-Loudoun) and Del. David E. Poisson (D-Loudoun).

Last week, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution reaffirming its opposition to an increase but contending that if the plan is approved, a portion of the toll revenue should go toward improvements to Loudoun roads that feed the Greenway.

The supervisors argue that they would be entitled to use the revenue for that purpose under a bill passed by the General Assembly last year. Under that bill, some of the money collected on the Dulles Toll Road to pay for the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport can be used to pay for improvements to nearby secondary roads.