Back-to-office directives and increased enforcement targeting “backtracking” through the airport have led to higher-than-projected use of the Dulles Toll Road in recent months, after a rocky start to the year.
“Not just the money, but the cars going through is improving,” Kate Hanley, a Virginia representative on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors, said.
The board on Wednesday (July 16) received a staff briefing on current financial conditions on the 14-mile toll road, which connects the airport eastbound to I-66 in the McLean and Falls Church area, with nine exit ramps in each direction.
For the first six months of 2025, the vehicle-transaction count of 35.5 million was up 0.8% from a year before, although it was down 2% from the budget forecast.
Toll road revenue for six-month period was $99.9 million, down 0.6% from a year before and off 0.9% from budget projections.
An unusually harsh — by D.C.-area standards — winter in part led to the lower-than-projected vehicle count for the early part of the year. In recent months, however, traffic counts are running above expectations.
“We are in a positive trend,” MWAA President and CEO Jack Potter said.
He attributed the recent uptick in usage in part to the Trump administration’s requirement that federal workers return to the office.
The authority continues its crackdown on commuters who “backtrack” by first driving west through the airport and then heading eastbound on the Dulles Access Road, where tolls aren’t charged.
“That was getting to a pretty high, visible number,” Hanley said at an MWAA committee meeting.
Richard Golinowski, the airport manager at Dulles and an MWAA vice president, said enforcement efforts “are having an effect.” They include additional signage as well as ticketing by what MWAA Executive Vice President of Operations Thomas Beatty described as a “very large” police presence.
“We do believe we are seeing a change,” Beatty told board members.
The Toll Road is a major money-maker for MWAA. While revenue for the six-month period from January through June was nearly $100 million, expenses were just $14.8 million.
Net operating income of $78.2 million for the six-month period was up 1.8% from the same span a year before.
Last increased at the beginning of 2023, current toll rates are $4 (E-ZPass) or $5.60 (pay-by-plate) at the main plaza, $2/$3.60 at ramps. The toll road stopped accepting cash on March 1, 2023, adopting a fully electronic system for collections.
