American Dream

Officials Intrigued, Cautious About Dulles Toll Proposal

By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 27, 2005; B01

Quotes:

An unusual and enticing proposal by a consortium of private investors to give Virginia a lump sum of more than $1 billion in return for 50 years' worth of revenue on the Dulles Toll Road presents state leaders with an intriguing option.

They could accept the windfall and use the money to quickly improve the state's transportation network, or they could turn it down, betting that they would make more money over the long term by continuing to pocket the tolls.

If the toll revenue is "profitable to the consortium, it ought to be even better for the state," said Stephen S. Fuller, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. But the deal "could
be attractive to the state, because it gets it out of a bind by coming up with a billion dollars quick."

State officials said the money would be used to upgrade the toll road and help pay for a $2.4 billion rail line through Tysons Corner.

The Dulles Toll Road is an eight-lane highway that stretches 14 miles between the Capital Beltway and the Dulles Greenway. It carries about 200,000 vehicles a day and runs through Reston, Herndon and Tysons Corner, home to many of Virginia's leading companies. Tolls on the road range from 50 to 75 cents, and state officials said they would maintain control over the rates as part of any deal.

"This is an extremely valuable asset, and the agreement is for a very long time," said Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer. "It's very difficult to predict what the transportation needs will be 10 years from today, let alone 50."

Homer and other state leaders, including Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), said yesterday that although they are intrigued by the proposal, they are eager to receive competing bids. They noted that nine bids were received in a similar deal on a toll road in Chicago that eventually netted the city $1.8 billion in exchange for a 99-year lease.

Ken Reid, a representative of Virginia Mobility Associates LLC, said his company would soon put forth a competing plan to widen the Dulles Toll Road, Dulles Connector Road and Interstate 66 inside the Beltway. Reid said two lanes of each road would become express lanes, open to carpoolers without charge and to solo drivers willing to pay a toll that would vary according to traffic levels.