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Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: September 01, 2009 05:46PM

Public Meetings on Toll Road Rate Increase

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will be holding 3 public meetings as a result of the proposed toll rate increases. These increases would increase by 25 cents the tolls at the Main Toll Plaza and at the ramps of the Dulles Toll Road. If approved by the Board, it would take effect January 1, 2010. Additional toll increases under the proposal would only affect the Main Toll Plaza and would increase the toll by 25 cents in 2011 and another 25 cents in 2012, with no changes at the ramp tolls. The public hearings will be conducted in an open house format at the following locations and dates:


DATE: Thursday, September 3, 2009
TIME: 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: McLean High School, Cafeteria
1633 Davidson Road, McLean

DATE: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
TIME: 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: South Lakes High School, Cafeteria
11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston


Third meeting: TBD

===========

There is also a law suit pending to block the toll road rate increases. When the referendum went to the voters, the terms were that the tolls would be removed when the loan was paid. The loan was paid off around 2005.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: makesnosensetome ()
Date: September 01, 2009 09:48PM

I would like to know why the state of VA can ELIMINATE the toll booths on 95S outside Richmond, yet continue to UP the tolls on Northern VA?!?!? Don't we give them ENOUGH money through our taxes already? Northern VA is already funding the majority of the state. Must we do MORE? Is it time to move to Delaware or Florida where they don't tax residents to death? Last one to leave the area, turn out the lights!

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Thurston Moore ()
Date: September 01, 2009 11:17PM

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> There is also a law suit pending to block the toll
> road rate increases. When the referendum went to
> the voters, the terms were that the tolls would be
> removed when the loan was paid. The loan was paid
> off around 2005.


Didn't they play some game where it was sold to a foreign company or the contract was given to them, around 2005? I know there was something they did to get around the original law.

They raised the rates about that time, to pay for the metro to dulles.

Are they trying to say this increase is to pay for the metro, again? Or are they dispensing with all pretenses and just going after a profit center?

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Toll Roads Suck ()
Date: September 01, 2009 11:54PM

I don't know about the Dulles Toll Road but the Dulles Greenway is operated by some nasty fuckers from Australia. Read this from July 2009:

Australian Toll Road Firm Continues Downward Spiral
Asset value of Macquarie toll roads drops $3.5 billion since June 2008.

The highly leveraged Australian toll road giant Macquarie Group continues to struggle as the global economy remains soft.

Traffic dropped 5.1 percent on the Dulles Greenway in Virginia where Macquarie's ownership lasts until the year 2056. Traffic dropped only 1.9 percent on the Skyway in Chicago, Illinois where Macquarie will collect tolls until the year 2104

Fewer people driving on the tolls roads, however, does not mean any loss in revenue. To the contrary, thanks to toll hikes, Macquarie's US toll roads saw profit grow between 2.9 and 11.6 percent. This is so because the states that signed deals with the Australian company ensured that no matter how bad the economic conditions might be, Macquarie would enjoy an increase in the amount of tolls greater than the rate of inflation. In Chicago, for example, the toll will eventually rise to $21 to take a one-way trip that lasts less than eight miles.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Thurston Moore ()
Date: September 02, 2009 12:01AM

Toll Roads Suck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know about the Dulles Toll Road but the
> Dulles Greenway is operated by some nasty fuckers
> from Australia. Read this from July 2009:
>
> Australian Toll Road Firm Continues Downward
> Spiral
> Asset value of Macquarie toll roads drops $3.5
> billion since June 2008.
>
> The highly leveraged Australian toll road giant
> Macquarie Group continues to struggle as the
> global economy remains soft.
>
> Traffic dropped 5.1 percent on the Dulles Greenway
> in Virginia where Macquarie's ownership lasts
> until the year 2056. Traffic dropped only 1.9
> percent on the Skyway in Chicago, Illinois where
> Macquarie will collect tolls until the year 2104
>
> Fewer people driving on the tolls roads, however,
> does not mean any loss in revenue. To the
> contrary, thanks to toll hikes, Macquarie's US
> toll roads saw profit grow between 2.9 and 11.6
> percent. This is so because the states that signed
> deals with the Australian company ensured that no
> matter how bad the economic conditions might be,
> Macquarie would enjoy an increase in the amount of
> tolls greater than the rate of inflation. In
> Chicago, for example, the toll will eventually
> rise to $21 to take a one-way trip that lasts less
> than eight miles.


I'm so glad that Bush was a big proponent in this "privatization" move towards selling public services to the private sector.

Water companies in South America through the World Bank and IMF, toll roads in America, etc.

I sure hope that Carlyle Group at least owns a portion of all the companies these assets are being sold to.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: September 02, 2009 06:49AM

makesnosensetome Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would like to know why the state of VA can
> ELIMINATE the toll booths on 95S outside Richmond,
> yet continue to UP the tolls on Northern VA?!?!?
> Don't we give them ENOUGH money through our taxes
> already? Northern VA is already funding the
> majority of the state. Must we do MORE? Is it
> time to move to Delaware or Florida where they
> don't tax residents to death? Last one to leave
> the area, turn out the lights!


Because Richmond has no control over the Dulles Toll Road. It's a regional toll road, funded by the region without State funding.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Date: September 02, 2009 09:52AM

ahhh..
taking more of me moneys!!
damn you leprachaun

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: September 02, 2009 10:28AM

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RestonLass Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >
> > There is also a law suit pending to block the
> toll
> > road rate increases. When the referendum went
> to
> > the voters, the terms were that the tolls would
> be
> > removed when the loan was paid. The loan was
> paid
> > off around 2005.
>
>
> Didn't they play some game where it was sold to a
> foreign company or the contract was given to them,
> around 2005? I know there was something they did
> to get around the original law.
>
> They raised the rates about that time, to pay for
> the metro to dulles.
>
> Are they trying to say this increase is to pay for
> the metro, again? Or are they dispensing with all
> pretenses and just going after a profit center?


They turned it over to Airport Authority, which was later ruled illegal. Now its it in the hands of group organized by County Supervisors, the Chamber etal. The premise of this "hand off" was a back-door loan extension for "like improvements" using the original loan as the base for the extension of credit.

I voted for the referendum, which did not include an option to extend the loan, and voiced my opposition with many others when the tolls were not removed after the loan was paid off. We all knew when a new tax or fee is installed, it is next to impossible to remove it - which is why the referendum was written to prevent this - or so we thought.

The Tolls are a huge money maker for the County, used to make repairs to the road, pay for countless "go nowhere" studies, and other non-toll road related transportation projects. I no longer use the toll road, but toll road users are tired of carrying the load. They want the tolls removed and the gas tax increased $0.50 to $1.00/gallon so the "pain" is spread evenly among all the people who use the roads.

Fairfax Supervisors and RCA did the same thing with the Reston Community Center. A referendum was put to the voters to create a small tax district to fund the community center. When the 30-year loan was paid off last year, they were suppose to do away with the small tax district and the center would become a County facility, maintained by the General Fund. Instead, they extended the loan to fund repairs and upgrade and reduced the small tax district. With fewer people paying off the loan, the life of the loan and the small tax district is not extended for another 25-30 years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2009 10:31AM by RestonLass.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: formerhick76 ()
Date: September 02, 2009 02:30PM

Republicans in Richmond have painted themselves into a corner (at least on this issue.)

If their leaders and/or moderates agree to some sort of gas tax increase, the Club for Growth will send forth challengers in the next election cycle, and anti-tax zealots tend to carry the day in General Assembly primaries.

But, without gas tax increases, some sort of patchwork of toll roads, privatization agreements, etc., are the only way to raise money.

The Dillon Rule and Republican control of the House of Delegates makes it next to impossible for Northern VA to form its own transportation/taxation authority.

It'd help if Deeds at least came up with a transportation plan though.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: September 02, 2009 03:39PM

Richmond Republicans (or Democracts) have nothing to do with the Dulles toll road. None of the toll road receives state funding. The Greenway receives no state funding either - it's a private road.

With all the Dems running the show in Northern VA, we should be thankful for the Dillon Rule to reign them in. The way the Dems love to tax and spend, we would be paying twice as much taxes as we are now WHILE we continue sending money South.

Deeds and McDonnel will do what all the others before them - make grandiose promises, and then do nothing. It's part of the "Governor's charter."

The real culprits who are blocking transportation funding for Northern VA, are the wussies in the General Assembly. Plum and Howell are about as worthless as they come. They've done nothing to bring money back to the region ... over and over again.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: ram ()
Date: October 21, 2009 12:14PM

Another Toll hike :(
What a timing, recession period
Double whammy for Fairfax residents, using the toll road. Once in 2005, and now again.
How much - Billions going to much delayed fancy project. (thanks to idiots of Tysons chambers who delayed the project for their own advangtages, and increased the cost of the project)
What it means to ordinary people - an extra whip every morning and evening when u use the toll road.

Please STOP these idiots from doubling these tolls.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Toll Changer ()
Date: October 21, 2009 02:12PM

Can't really do anything about, they'll do it no matter what.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Warhawk ()
Date: October 21, 2009 02:50PM

Toll Changer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Can't really do anything about, they'll do it no
> matter what.

+1. Often I have to go into DC for work and my office is in Herndon. I just use Rt.7. Sure it takes a little longer, but that's less time I have to actually work and I don't give those fuckers any money.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: WestfieldDad ()
Date: October 21, 2009 10:52PM

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richmond Republicans (or Democracts) have nothing
> to do with the Dulles toll road. None of the toll
> road receives state funding.

The Dulles Toll Road was built by VDOT and controlled by the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board. The toll road is on an 99-year easement from FAA. The tolls were originally to retire debt the Commonwealth took on to build the thing.

http://novaroads.mjhale.com/state/267tr/index.html

The agreement to transfer the toll road for 50 years from VDOT/Commonwealth to Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority (WMAA) is -

http://www.mwaa.com/_/file/_/MasterTransferAgreementDullesTollRoad.pdf

The Airports Authority has just taken over Operation of the Toll Road.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093003560.html

The Dulles Metro is being built in 2 segments. The first - to Wiehle - is being paid for by a combination of Federal, WMAA, Commonwealth, and Fairfax moneys. The Commonwealth portion is actually being funded via Toll money WMAA is required to use under the transfer agreement for the Metro. The local portion is being paid for by a special tax district on businesses near the stations. The second segment is being paid for by WMAA, Commonwealth and Fairfax & Loudoun, the Commonwealth, again from the Toll Road transfer, the local from a second special tax district on businesses near the second segment stations (in Fairfax, assuming it goes through will ensure that there are stations in Fairfax. that otherwise wouldn't get built. I don't know how Loudoun is paying for their part.).

So, contrary to your assertion, the State contribution to the Dulles Metro is actually being funded by all we Northern Virginia Toll Road Users... Just like everything else, NOVA pays for the Commonwealth.

As to why WMAA got into the act -
- WMAA's 99 year agreement with the Federal Government includes control over the land for the access road & toll road so WMAA was somewhat involved even in the first segment no matter what, and
- WMAA was concerned that, with the extension being built/funded in two segments and the Federal portion utterly dependent on the ridership ratios that were highly unlikely to be met for the second segment and the second segment having to have its own justification & be competed again for later Federal money, the Metro'd get to Wiehle and never go to Dulles.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: ito ()
Date: October 22, 2009 08:47AM

Why isn't the toll road already paid for???

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: October 22, 2009 09:52AM

The toll road IS paid for. They are working on the extension to Dulles now.

The toll road is a reliable source of continued revenue. The new main and ramp booths increases should be sufficient to conduct further studies and give Plum etal justification to keep Northern VA transportation tax dollars in the Rest of Virginia, rather than coming home.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: WestfieldDad ()
Date: October 22, 2009 05:05PM

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The toll road IS paid for. They are working on
> the extension to Dulles now.

Not quite. The transfer agreement transfers certain bonds to WMAA to be paid off by WMAA. Based on the dates, all of the bonds that paid for the original 4 lane toll road are paid off, but bonds that paid for the additional lanes don't appear to be fully paid off yet.

>
> The toll road is a reliable source of continued
> revenue. The new main and ramp booths increases
> should be sufficient to conduct further studies
> and give Plum etal justification to keep Northern
> VA transportation tax dollars in the Rest of
> Virginia, rather than coming home.

The Toll Road has already been transferred to WMAA.

The essential question now is whether WMAA lives up to its side of the agreement regarding what the funds are used for. Unfortunately, while the transfer agreement requires that all funds from tolls be spent for transportation in the Dulles Corridor, it does not define the extent of the Corridor. Result, there's a fight right now between Fairfax and Loudoun about whether WMAA can use any of the money for engineering studies regarding 606 in Loudoun.

Why wasn't the extent nailed down in the agreement? Because the agreement was between the Commonwealth and WMAA and it didn't matter to them what the extent actually was since any reading of the agreement would have the money spent in the Commonwealth. Had Fairfax and Loudoun been involved in the drafting, they would have had the current fight during the drafting stage instead of now.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: RestonLass ()
Date: October 22, 2009 06:27PM

I thought the road was completely paid for. Sorry about that.

Today on the news it was reported that the toll booth increases would fund the extension to Dulles, which I presume was a "quiet add on" after the fact.

Kinda like the Reston Community Center - it was paid off and then they decided to do some major renovations, and now trying to build a 2nd Center, so they just extended the Small Tax District, and everyone gets to continue paying.

Even though we were told the tolls and and Small Tax District would cease once the debt was paid, we all knew (though didn't speak it aloud) that once a toll or tax is put in place, it is NEVER removed.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: Pookie ()
Date: October 22, 2009 07:05PM

You will pay more taxes ...period...A COMMITTEE made the decision...you have NO rights, no say, and do what you are told....because ppl in Virginia do that...in other states ppl protest, but not here, no one protests anything. The reason nothing in VA/MD/DC does not work is because the politicians you have here are totally corrupt and self-centered and it will not change. Bulldove everything and start over from scratch.

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: WestfieldDad ()
Date: October 22, 2009 07:05PM

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Today on the news it was reported that the toll
> booth increases would fund the extension to
> Dulles, which I presume was a "quiet add on" after
> the fact.

The fact that there would be toll add-ons was baked into the transfer agreement 3+ years ago, but even before that, additional tolls were how the Commonwealth planned to pay for the State portion of the Metro extension in the Fed/WMAA/State/Locality sharing to get the Federal transportation dollars that are partially funding the first segment. What's unclear at this point is how high the add-ons will really go...

The transfer agreement was signed about 3 years ago. It had triggers (e.g. Feds give initial approval, Feds give next step approval, ...) for when various parts of the agreement would go into effect. At this point all of the triggers have fired & the agreement is in full effect.

N.B. Since the Toll Road was the Commonwealth's to do with whatever it felt like, the Commonwealth's intent to use the tolls to pay the State's portion really was a State, not a Local contribution. Just because we NOVA locals pay all of the tolls doesn't mean those tolls aren't the State contribution...

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Re: Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meeting
Posted by: MommaBear ()
Date: October 22, 2009 09:16PM

it's a clusterfuck! We are in a recession (don't look at what media tells you), gas is going up and tolls going up it will continue to lead to an even greater recession. Hyper spending by government and private created such disaster there's no stopping it.
You'll pay for it one way or another.

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