To ease congestion and increase convenience for drivers, 19 toll-lanes along the Dulles Toll Road will be converted from “exact change” to “E-ZPass only” over the next year, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the road, announced Wednesday.

During the conversion project, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 2, coin baskets will be removed and replaced by upgraded E-ZPass infrastructure.  Conversions are scheduled for unattended “exact change” lanes at the main toll plaza and exit ramps along the roadway.

“This lane conversion continues the long tradition of providing a convenient, consistent travel option for drivers in Northern Virginia,” said Dulles Toll Road Manager Cyndi Ward.  “About 90 percent of drivers currently using these lanes are already paying with E-ZPass rather than coins. Full-service lanes will continue to be available at all toll plazas along the roadway for those wishing to pay with cash, but we encourage drivers to consider the added convenience of E-ZPass in order to bypass the lines associated with cash payments.”

Drivers can sign up for E-ZPass or find locations on how to pick up E-ZPass On-the-Go transponders in stores across the state at www.ezpassva.com.

To minimize congestion, lanes will be reconfigured one at a time, with each conversion taking two to four weeks.  When the project is complete, all toll plazas will still have at least one “full service” lane available.

The first lane to be converted will be the right-most lane on the westbound Fairfax County Parkway exit. 

Work Commencing:

Next Up (upon completion of previous work):

Press releases will be issued prior to construction on new lanes, announcing which lane will undergo work, as well as which toll plaza will be converted next.

Because traffic congestion may occur in work areas, drivers are encouraged to plan their travels accordingly. Drivers can check www.DullesTollRoad.com or follow of Twitter @Dulles_Toll_Rd or Facebook /DullesTollRoad for updates on construction.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia, manages and operates Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports, which together serve more than 40 million passengers a year. The Airports Authority also operates and maintains the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road and manages construction of the Silver Line project, a 23-mile extension of the Washington region’s Metrorail system into Loudoun County, Va. No tax dollars are used to operate the toll road, which is funded by toll revenues, or the airports, which are funded through aircraft landing fees, rents and revenues from concessions. The Silver Line construction is funded by a combination of toll-road revenues, airport contributions and federal, state and local government appropriations. The Airports Authority is led by a 17-member board of directors, appointed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the president of the United States, and generates more than 387,000 jobs and 4.5 percent of GDP in the National Capital Region.