WASHINGTON 鈥� Tolls for solo-drivers and expanded rush-hour periods begin Monday, Dec. 4 on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway.
Beyond the basic new rules of the road, 草莓传媒 listeners submitted a series of questions about the cost of tolls and how drivers will pay, which we took to state transportation officials.
Who has to pay, and how much? How do the tolls work?
Any driver riding alone during the restricted times, including traffic to or from Dulles International Airport and hybrid vehicles, must pay an automated toll that rises and falls based on traffic in the lanes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 dynamically priced 鈥� basically that鈥檚 an algorithm that measures congestion, and as the congestion increases the toll increases, and as the congestion goes down, the toll decreases,鈥� VDOT Tolling Division Administrator David Caudill said.
The idea is similar to the tolls for the 95 and 495 Express Lanes, but Caudill declined to predict what solo drivers will be asked to pay.
鈥淚t really depends on the response to the facility and how popular it is. We鈥檒l know more once it stabilizes and the user group is established and they kind of tell us what that level of pricing is to determine what it takes to maintain reasonable speeds,鈥� he said.
The goal is to keep traffic between the Beltway and U.S. 29 in Rosslyn moving at least 45 mph.
Caudill said previous estimates of $17 average round-trip tolls are a few years old.
鈥淭hat was way back when we did traffic and revenue studies, and those are just basically ballpark kind of things; we really don鈥檛 know. And we really don鈥檛 want to say because we know we鈥檇 be wrong,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e waiting for this facility to open; we鈥檙e going to let the dynamic pricing do what it鈥檚 designed to do, measure that congestion, raise pricing accordingly. The idea being we don鈥檛 want to impede progress of our HOV users.鈥�
Tolls are expected to vary by time of day and day of the week, Deputy Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue said.
鈥淔riday is probably not always going to be the same as Monday. Wednesday鈥檚 probably not going to be the same as Tuesday. It鈥檚 all depending on how people want to use it,鈥� Donohue said. 鈥淚f you go at the height of rush hour, the toll鈥檚 going to be higher than if you go earlier or later … when there鈥檚 more folks who want to use it, the toll鈥檚 going to go up and when less folks want to use it, the toll鈥檚 going to go down.鈥�
Will I know the price before I get on the road?
鈥淎ll the entrances have a minimum of two signs, and those signs provide pricing at that moment. The first one is an advisory sign; the next sign is a confirmation sign. That price you see on the confirmation sign will be the price you would pay,鈥� Caudill said.
The signs each show the shortest trip, the longest trip and one middle-length trip.
鈥淣ot all trips are shown just because of signing limitations, but anything in between those trips can be interpolated so you have a good idea what your trip price would be,鈥� Caudill said.
VDOT has promised an app that will show current prices and allow drivers to look at prices at past dates and times.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a feature later on that shows you, on a given toll period, how the pricing looked, and that will enable people to say, 鈥榃ell I know if I leave 15 minutes early it鈥檚 on the lower side of the curve, if I wait until 8:15 that seems to be the peak point for pricing.鈥� So, that information will be forthcoming,鈥� Caudill said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking six weeks we鈥檒l be able to generate some historical pricing just to give people an idea what to avoid if they want to pay less, as far as the single-occupancy tolling.鈥�
The price will not change for drivers already on the road once they enter, even as it continues to change for new drivers entering the highway.
鈥淭here鈥檒l be plenty of signs. No one鈥檚 ever going to be surprised when they get on the road and not know what that toll is going to be,鈥� Donohue said.
What do I get for paying a toll? Where does the money go?
Drivers who pay the toll get a promise of free-flowing traffic.
The money from the tolls, estimated to be $18 million in the first year, will support tolling operations and maintenance and go toward transportation improvements along the I-66 corridor.
鈥淲e鈥檝e already introduced new bus service 鈥� from Prince William, Loudoun, Fairfax and other places throughout this corridor,鈥� Donohue said.
Fairfax County, for example, starts the new Dec. 4 from the Fairfax County Government Center Park & Ride area directly to Foggy Bottom.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission will continue to direct those excess funds for the next 40 years.
