The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors voted Wednesday to increase rates for two-axle vehicles on the Dulles Toll Road from the current $3.25 to $4.00 at the main toll plaza and from $1.50 to $2.00 on ramps. The increase, which has been discussed at previous board meetings, becomes effective January 1, 2023.  

Another vote Wednesday authorized an administrative fee to recover the costs of pay-by-plate transactions, as the toll road prepares to go cashless in 2023.  

Rates on the Dulles Toll Road have not increased since January 1, 2019. Toll revenue follows a long-standing plan of finance to fund highway operating and maintenance costs plus a portion of construction costs for Metrorail’s Silver Line, which began service to Dulles International Airport on November 15. Funding of the Metrorail project is governed by an agreement between the Airports Authority and partners in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the federal government. 

Public hearings on the proposed toll increase and administrative fee were held in July. Exhibits can be viewed here, and a report on public comments is posted here. Debt management and refinancing have kept toll rates lower through the years than original projections. 

A $250 million increase of the rail project’s budget approved in July 2022 is unrelated to the toll-setting process and is not forecast to impact toll rates. Based on the current portfolio of toll road revenue bonds, debt service obligations are projected through 2058, with modest toll rate increases expected every five years. 

There are several convenient options for motorists to pay tolls along the Dulles Toll Road: 

• E-ZPass is the preferred form of toll payment, accounting for about 98 percent of Dulles Toll Road transactions. It is also accepted at many other toll facilities around the country. 

• Toll road drivers without E-ZPass can visit tollroadsinvirginia.com, operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, to pay a toll before or after receiving an invoice. 

• Smartphone applications from private companies offer another way to pay. Examples include EZ Tolls VA, GoToll, Slora, Uproad and Peasy. Users can expect to incur fees set by the companies in addition to toll payment. 

In the first quarter of 2023, a pay-by-plate collection system will join the options listed above. Coins will no longer be accepted, and coin baskets will be deactivated. Motorists who don’t pay tolls electronically will be identified by their vehicle license plate and receive an invoice to their registered address. Wednesday’s board vote authorizes an administrative fee that will initially be set at $1.60 per transaction to cover the cost of preparing and sending invoices to pay-by-plate customers. 

In April 2020, manual toll collection ended on the Dulles Toll Road in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans for a phased removal of toll booths at 59 existing toll lanes will be explored in the coming months. Eliminating toll booths is expected to speed traffic flow and benefit the environment by reducing emissions that would have been produced by vehicles waiting in toll-booth lines.