Selling the Dulles Toll Road

Tomorrow, at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner (dont know the time) the group you read about in today's Post that wants to buy the Dulles Toll Road to give Virginia the $1 billion it needs to finance Metro to Wiehle Avenuel, will formally unveil their proposal.

Selling the Toll Road to a private firm for $1 billion means that company has to recoup its costs, and that can only be done through higher tolls. Tolls exceeding $2 each way just to pay back the debt are possible.

Plus, this private group will NOT add lanes to the Toll Road -- they will only improve the exit ramps and repave the road.

 

The articles all state clearly that the toll road isn't being sold. The group is basically paying $1 billion (plus some promised improvements) up front to get 50 years worth of tolls. The state (not the group) will control the toll amount.

Where did you get your $2 toll estimate? Those Washington Post articles say that the toll road generated $28.5 million in surplus last year. At that rate, it would take less than 36 years to pay back the $1 billion investment. And that's without any increases to the tolls. I know that's a very simple calculation (and I'm probably missing something) but it sounds like they can easily recoup their costs in less than 50 years without raising the tolls.

 

You mean this investors just want their $1billion back??? What about their return? $1billion with a 6% interest rate = $60MM. Annual toll collections are not even enough to cover interest. So if this pushes through, how much will we have to pay GW and DLT just to get to Tyson's Corner!

 

I've already experienced the PRIVATELY OWNED Greenway and the increase of the tolls. I'm not willing to pay $5.00 - $6.00 one-way to get to DC.

Why should Eastern Loudoun residents have to pay to commute (via car) to work compared to someone that lives in Fairfax County, Montgomery County, Arlington, Alexandria, etc.? And before anyone says it, I'm well aware that I chose to live in Eastern Loudoun.

 

Not just us darlin. Large chunk of Fairfax residents use the Toll Rd as well as Western Loudoun and probably most of West Va. residents who do not take Rt 7 at 0'dark-hundred.

The Toll Rd. is a MAJOR artery and private companies know it will make them money.

As for Rt. 7 and 66, traffic is typically bad after 6AMish. Soooo, what other options are there if you have to work downtown and at a specific time?

 

In my opinion, a large usage of Metro would be to Tysons Corner. Just saw this regarding obstacles...

http://www.nbc4.com/news/4774357/detail.html

 

If you consider the toll road is netting ~$25M/year then a 50 year lease would be $1.25billion so they make $250million on their investment. Although after the improvements they will certainly need to raise the tolls - just wait.

Plus Metros' Silver line costs are out of control and they haven't even started. I don't understand how they didn't figure in the electricity costs and how they missed the "hill" before now. Seems like they pushed the project forward with "bad" numbers in my opinion. What next - "We forgot the costs of the steel"???

I go back to what I have said before - they would have never made us pay for the Metro with tolls if they hadn't already had them in place. The commuters are captive - there is no money to fix the roads without tolls making the only quick way to work the toll road, and then they can charge what they want.

 

Making $250 million over 50 years on a one billion dollar investment figures out to about just under 1/2 of one percent of interest earned per year. They will definitely need to raise tolls substantially if they want to make any money on the proposal.