The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors voted Wednesday to increase rates on the Dulles Toll Road, beginning in January 2019, from the current $2.50 to $3.25 at the main toll plaza, and from $1.00 to $1.50 on ramps. 

The Board has not increased the rates on the Dulles Toll Road since 2014 due in part to additional funding and financing sources for Phase 2 construction of the Metrorail Silver Line. Under the contract governing construction of the Silver Line, the Airports Authority is required to use revenues from the toll road to help fund the project. Other funding sources include Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Airports Authority and the federal government. 

The toll rates for the main line toll plaza and ramp entrances and exits for all vehicles will increase as follows:

Airports Authority Board Chairman Warner Session emphasized that the 2019 toll adjustments are primarily necessary for financing Phase 2 of the Silver Line construction project. Session said the increase is consistent with the financing plan calling for periodic toll rate increases to meet the debt obligation and the decision came “after careful consideration of public input received at the three toll rate public hearings held this summer, the public comments received on-line and the recommendation of the Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee.” The Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee, a group that includes officials representing the Commonwealth of Virginia, local governments in Northern Virginia and the Airports Authority, reviewed and recommended the rates adopted by the Board.

"We appreciate the invaluable feedback from communities interested in the Airports Authority's toll rate setting process,” Session added. “Through the meetings and the online forum, we received not just toll rate comments, but also actionable recommendations to consider on a range of subjects.”  The next planned toll rate increase is not until 2023.

The Silver Line, a 23-mile extension of the existing Metrorail system being constructed by the Airports Authority, will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.  The extension includes 11 new stations and will serve Tysons Corner, Virginia's largest employment center, Washington Dulles International Airport and the Reston, Herndon and Ashburn areas. It will provide a long-awaited rail link between Dulles International Airport and downtown Washington.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia to manage and operate Washington’s Ronald Reagan National and Dulles International airports, which together serve more than 46 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. No taxpayer money is 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.