Bad news for Loudoun County commuters. It looks like your tolls are about to go up.
The board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority -- those people responsible for the bazillion dollar parking fees at Dulles -- are voting on a proposal to jack up fees on the Dulles Toll Road today, says the Post.
Board staff had recommended an increase from 75 cents to $1.50 at the main entrance gate, and from 50 to 75 cents at exit ramps. Who wouldn't want to pay an extra two bucks a day to drive on that fine, congested, hellish highway?
But don't worry. Your money's going to a good cause (depending on your point of view): Metro expansion. The authority oversees construction and plans to use Toll Road money to fund a plurality of the project: 41 percent of the project's funds will come from Virginia's miserable Toll Road commuters.
You'd think that the Toll Road's average of a speed trap every 15-20 feet would be able to produce enough revenue for them to fund the project and pave the Toll Road in gold.
Maybe instead of jacking up everyone's tolls, they could place a special $5 tax district on the gas station at the end of the Toll Road that smart commuters use as a work-around to access the toll-free airport access section of the road?
Nah. They'll just bleed commuters a little more. But the bright side? At some point in the next 20 years, they'll be able to put their cars away and take the two-hour trip to D.C. on Metro.
