Our Stories- How DTR Tolls Hurt Our Families

We can talk about the environment, traffic, injustice, etc. but where it really hits home is when we explain how increased tolls on the Dulles Toll Road hurt our families. We are all local residents just trying to protect our families and our way of life. Here are some of our stories:

From Erik:
Hello, my name is Erik and I am a Maryland resident. I commute to Reston daily. For the past 12 months I’ve being taking alternate routes to avoid the rising cost of the Toll Road. Please feel free to share my story with everyone.

Solution: Tolling the Airport Access Road

UPDATE 12-12-2012: The MWAA Board approved an amendment to their lease agreement, which would allow non-aviation commercial development on their property. Gov. Bob McDonnell should refuse to sign this amendment until MWAA allows tolls on the Airport Access Road.
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It is not fair to take money from one person and give them absolutely nothing in return. That is exactly how many view the idea of extracting tolls from Dulles Toll Road users to fund the Silver Line extension.

Planners claim the rail extension will help the Dulles Airport grow. In a more perfect world, people who use the Silver Line and the Dulles Airport would be the ones paying to build the rail line. Instead, through a mixed up set of decisions, the current plan has train riders and airport customers paying very little. That needs to change.

Fatally Flawed Toll Scheme is Falling Apart

Surprise! Surprise! The ill-conceived Dulles Rail funding scheme that was hastily thrown together is falling apart!

Citizens are furious at the audacity of elected officials standing mute, ignoring the injustice of shackling hard-working commuters with the tab for this mega share of Dulles Rail, which most know, is a developers perk. Piling more oppressive tolls on the backs of Dulles Toll Road users after they were told the road would become a free road is the kind of blatant deception that ought to mark any aspiring politician as a Traitor for Life. With a few notable exceptions, politicians have ignored warnings from credible experts and pumped up this dog-of-a-project with phony promises.

Now, as bidding for Phase 2 of the project has been narrowed to five competitors, it seems that experts’ concerns and commuters disgust are finally starting to sink in with those calling the shots.

Lawsuit: MWAA Toll Increases are Unconstitutional!

UPDATE October 12, 2012: The Federal Circuit issued a decision to transfer the case to the United States Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit. This means we won't actually get a decision in the case for a while. The Federal Circuit decided that MWAA was not a "federal instrumentality", and thus sent the case to the 4th Circuit.

While we would have preferred for the Federal Circuit to prohibit MWAA from collecting DTR tolls and diverting them to the rail project, there is still a possibility of the 4th Circuit doing so. Meanwhile, we should continue to ask Gov. McDonnell and our legislators to take our road back and have MWAA fund Dulles Rail by tolling their Airport Access Road.

VDOT: Retake the Dulles Toll Road

UPDATE 9-9-2012: Senator Black has written a letter urging Gov. McDonnell to retake the Dulles Toll Road. We need you to do two things:

1. Ask your legislators to support this effort

2. Contact Gov. Bob McDonnell through his official website or at

(804) 786-2211 to encourage him to take action NOW to save our toll road from MWAA!

Wouldn't it be crazy if your community was threatened by an approaching storm, but local authorities did little to help citizens avoid the pending danger? That is about where Northern Virginia stands with the perfect storm of Dulles Toll Road tolls, traffic and taxes that is bearing down on us. There is a lot of talking among politicians, but meaningful action is scarce.

You Can Stop the Toll Increases

Something has gone wrong with your Dulles Toll Road…and it must be fixed!

If you think something has gone wrong with your Dulles Toll Road, you’re right. The good news is, there is a much better way if some tough choices are made.

First, MWAA, the folks you hear about in the news wasting public dollars on travel and extravagant meals are the ones who are in control of the Toll Road. That is at the root of the problem and needs to change. MWAA answers to no one and judging by their actions, they could not care less about how their decisions affect you and me. MWAA is the middle man we cannot afford.

Donate $100 NOW to save $1,000/year in tolls

Fighting higher tolls costs money! We are fighting for you.

Our first goal is to STOP THE TOLL INCREASES because it is wrong to impose this cost on Dulles Toll Road users, making this a road for just the wealthy.

When you donate $100 NOW this could save $1,000+ a year in tolls for many years.

Donate $10 or more, and we'll get you a NoTollIncrease bumper sticker!

Stop Tollmageddon

Solution 1. Retake the Dulles Toll Road
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton on April 14, 2012, said the Commonwealth was so unhappy with MWAA that it would rather finish building the Silver Line itself.

“We are actively evaluating whether we can take the project over. These guys (MWAA) are a disaster,” Connaughton said. “We’re at the point, quite honestly, where we think we could potentially do it better, cheaper, faster.”

Toll Avoidance, Rt. 7 Traffic, and the Environment

Higher tolls are bad for one primary reason: they force all but the most wealthy drivers off the Toll Road. The result of this is that the alternate free roads see drastically increased congestion. How bad will the increased congestion be? We really don't know, because the people planning the Dulles Rail Project hid the data.

When are Tolls Going Up?

Tolls were projected to double to $4.50 on Jan. 1, 2013, then keep rising at a level to keep future usage at about 75% of current usage.

MWAA is currently proposing to use $150 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia to 'buy down' the toll increases for two years, so that a $0.50 hike will take place Jan. 1, 2013, another $0.75 Jan. 1, 2014, and another $1.00 Jan. 1, 2015.

Sample Letters to Elected Officials

Dear Delegate Comstock,

The pending toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road are an enormous threat to quality of life for your constituents, and they realize it. When tolls double, up to 50,000 cars/day will be diverted off of the DTR, with most of them diverted onto Rt. 7, Rt. 193, and neighborhood roads that go straight through neighborhoods in your district. For reference, Rt. 7 handled approximately 60,000 cars/day between the Loudoun County line and the beltway, and Georgetown Pike runs 20,000 between Rt. 7 and the Beltway (VDOT's 2010 AADT report). These roads are already congested and cannot safely absorb this influx of additional traffic.

AAA Mid-Atlantic: Dulles Toll Road "Reverse Robin Hood Syndrome"

AAA Mid-Atlantic recently exposed the pain that will come to Loudoun and Fairfax Counties from the planned toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road (DTR). Toll avoidance will make traffic worse for everyone except the extremely wealthy who will find the DTR wide open because most people won't be able to afford an extra $1,125/yr. in tolls to commute.
That increased traffic will lead to more accidents, more time and gas wasted idling in traffic, and less time spent with family and friends. Help us spread the word: No Toll Increases!