(The Center Square) – Drivers of the Dulles Greenway will be spared the “largest” proposed toll hike in the tollway’s history, following a decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Thursday the unanimous decision to uphold the State Corporation Commission’s rejection of the hike.
Toll Roads Investors Partnership II, which operates in partnership with Virginia’s Department of Transportation, filed a request in 2024 to increase its maximum tolls from $5.80 to $8.10 during peak hours for most vehicles. During off-peak hours, the company proposed increasing the tolls from $5.25 to $6.40.
The attorney general’s office claims the company “sought to impose a staggering 40% toll increase, raising costs for daily commuters by over $1,100 annually.”
Miyares touted the victory, arguing the company was trying to “gouge commuters.”
“This is an enormous win for hardworking Virginians who are already stretched thin by rising costs,” said Miyares. “No private company has the right to exploit a government franchise to gouge commuters, especially when public alternatives exist. My office stood up to defend Virginia consumers from the largest toll increase in Dulles Greenway history, and today, common sense prevailed.”
TRIP II had requested that changes be made to “streamline” an existing SCC review and approval process for toll increases.
In the lawsuit filed by TRIP II, the company maintained that tolls needed to be increased to recoup over $12 billion owed to investors, further accusing the commonwealth of trying to bankrupt the company.
“The Greenway has been open to the public every day for over three decades without spending one penny of public money. And yet rather than honoring TRIP II’s right to earn a reasonable return on investment, the Commonwealth has instead tried to force it into bankruptcy,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that rate regulation changes were approved in 2021 by the General Assembly, which led to the commission’s denial of the rate increase, which the company asserts was unconstitutional.
“Faced with growing political hostility to the Greenway’s owners, the Virginia General Assembly amended the [Virginia Highways and Vehicles Authorities] in 2021. The amended VHCA punishes TRIP II by making toll rate increases effectively impossible. And in keeping with that design, the Commission has since denied TRIP II any toll increases, even while acknowledging that current rates are insufficient to allow TRIP II to even service its Commission-approved debt,” the lawsuit added.
Miyares’ office argued that the “proposed tolls failed to meet basic legal standards of reasonableness and public benefit.”
In the legal battle against the company, the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Counsel, Loudoun County and the public opposed the proposed hike, according to a release from Miyares’ office.
The attorney general argues that the companies’ “own projections showed that traffic volumes had never come close to what was promised when the Greenway was build,” adding that it “consistently relied on toll increases to make up for poor forecasting” and increasing debt, claiming to be over $1 billion.
“Under Virginia law, toll increases must be reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit received. TRIP II’s proposed rate failed on multiple fronts. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the Commission’s finding that the proposed tolls were unjustified and unreasonably burdensome on the public,” Miyares’ office concluded.
TRIP II has not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
