VA-28: taxes not tolls

Virginia DOT chose taxes over tolls for financing the upgrade of VA-28 which runs alongside Washington Dulles airport. It had competing proposals for the approx $350m work on 22km (14mi) of 2x3-lane signalized arterial that runs north-south along the eastern edge of the airport property from Leesburg Pike (VA-7) to I-66. The road currently has interchanges at US-50 and the VA-267 (Dulles Toll Road/Greenway) but most of the private sector financing will cover an additional ten interchanges which will replace signals. The proposal from Clark Construction and Shirley Contracting, large local roadbuilders, simply adds one additional travel lane to make the highway 2x4-lanes.

The Clark/Shirley proposal will be financed with bonds secured to the yield of higher taxes on property owners in a special taxation district on either side of the road, plus some state grants. The defeated proposal from Fluor Daniel/Morrison Knudsen would have added HOT lanes (HO3+ free, others Tolled) for a 2x3 free lanes astride 2x2 HOT lanes configuration. The HOT lanes would have been barriered off from free lanes except for a stretch in the middle at the VA-267 interchange where free movement in and out would be allowed.

VA Transp Commissioner Charles Nottingham said he rejected the HOT lanes because the proposal only provided for very limited access/egress. People paying for the lanes along the corridor would not be able to use them, he said. [Nottingham seems confused: tolls would pay for the HOT lanes so longer distance traffic using the lanes would pay for them.] In any case Nottingham said HOT lanes were “innovative” and “promising” and could “play a role” in other highway improvement projects in the state.

The road carries about 70k veh/day over much of its length, a volume expected to increase to 135k by 2010. The 2x4 free lanes proposal still has to be negotiated in a contract with Clark/Shirley but the aim is to finish the work by mid-2005. By doing without federal funds the project avoids time consuming permitting and longdrawn out arguments over alternatives.

The Dulles Greenway could lose a bit of traffic from the project since it will encourage some Dulles Toll Road traffic to depart at VA-28 rather than continuing onto the Greenway. It and provide a quick trip north to VA-7 making that free route more attractive.