A planned 14-gate concourse at Dulles International Airport received a major federal lift this week.
Yesterday, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the Tier 2 Concourse East project will get $35 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed in 2021.
The funds will help finance the 400,000-square-foot terminal building, which will provide a direct connection to the Aerotrain that helps customers move around the airport and a direct connection to Metro’s Silver Line station at Dulles.
“Dulles Airport is a beacon for both domestic and international flights, and has expanded rapidly over the past decade,” the senators said in a statement. “This funding will improve travel for passengers and ensure that the airport stays functional and safe while continuing to meet flight demands.”
The project broke ground in November, and preliminary construction activities are underway, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson Crystal Nosal confirmed.
“This project will be a significant step in upgrading aging facilities at the airport to enhance customer service and meet future infrastructure needs,” Nosal wrote in a statement.
A complete timeline for the estimated date of completion was not immediately available.
In its statement, MWAA said it was appreciative of the federal funds to support the concourse project, which is projected to cost between $500 million and $800 million in total.
MWAA announced in April 2022 that it had applied for $230 million in Federal Aviation Administration grant funding from a program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help airports upgrade or replace aging facilities.
“We are grateful to our partners at United Airlines and members of the Northern Virginia congressional delegation as well as officials in the Commonwealth of Virginia and local governments for their strong support of this effort,” MWAA said. “We also thank regional business groups for their support in this grant process.”
United Airlines is in line for a major expansion of its facilities at Dulles International Airport.
Construction on a new concourse for the airport’s largest carrier could break ground within the next month, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President and CEO Jack Potter told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a Tuesday (Oct. 17) transportation committee meeting.
Dubbed Tier-2 Concourse East, the $580 million project will add 400,000 square feet on top of the existing C and D concourse, replacing Concourse A gates built in the 1990s that require passengers to use outdoor, covered walkways to get to their planes.
Expected to become operational in 2026, the new concourse will have 14 gates, seven of them capable of accommodating larger planes for international flights. It will also directly connect to the airport’s underground Aerotrain system, which is currently only accessible from the C/D concourse by a pedestrian walkway that “people find that very inconvenient,” Potter said.
“I think it’s going to significantly improve the customer experience,” Potter said, noting that the C/D concourse has undersized rooms and lacks sufficient space for concessions. “That’s the two things we’re trying to drive on: we want capacity, but we also want to really make sure that we improve the customer experience.”
Work on the concourse project is kicking into gear as Dulles Airport and Reagan National Airport fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, combining for 4.6 million passengers in August to surpass 2019 levels, according to Potter’s presentation to the transportation committee.
While that demand was initially driven by National Airport in Arlington, a resurgence of international travel has now pushed Dulles ahead of its more constrained counterpart in terms of growth, Potter said.
Dulles is serving more passengers from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe than it was before the pandemic, and domestic travel has returned to 97% of 2019 levels, according to MWAA. The only region significantly lagging is Asia, which Potter attributed to “the geopolitical situation” in China.
Metro’s extension of the Silver Line through Dulles Airport has been a “win-win” for MWAA and Fairfax County, Potter said, as the accompanying influx of development and businesses along the Dulles corridor feeds traffic at both of the D.C. area’s major airports.
In addition to giving fliers a new travel option, the station has expanded MWAA’s reach when it comes to recruiting employees, who get incentives for using transit, Potter told the committee. The Dulles station hit 1 million passengers on Oct. 4 — accounting for a third of the over 3 million people who have used the six new Silver Line stations since they opened last Nov. 15.
“We are selling very, very strongly to international destinations and travelers that they can come into Dulles Airport and take transit to downtown [D.C.] and any other destination served by the Metro,” Potter said. “It is a very, very good selling point.”
Dulles International Airport will soon be able to generate solar energy on its grounds.
Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will break ground on a new solar energy and storage project — called Solar + Storage Project — on vacant land near airport today (Tuesday).
The venture is the largest solar energy project developed at a U.S. airport, according to MWAA.
Construction is expected to begin later this year, according to Aaron Ruby, a spokesperson with Dominion Energy. The project will wrap up by late 2026.
“This will be the largest renewable energy project ever developed at a U.S. airport. Millions of travelers flying in and out of Dulles each year will see this powerful symbol of the clean energy transition,” Ruby said.
The utility company plans to install the tens of thousands of solar panels and will build and maintain a 2 megawatt solar carports. MWAA will also have access to electric buses, electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure.
Approved by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in January, the project will cover 800 acres of land and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 25,000 homes, according to the Gazette Leader. It will support both the airport and surrounding neighborhoods through Dominion’s grid.
A groundbreaking on the project is set for 11:30 a.m. Sen. Mark Warner, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other local and state leaders are expected to attend, according to a press release.
A new traffic pattern is in effect on Reston Parkway after a crash in July damaged two beams on the bridge over the Dulles Toll Road.
The left lane of the road is closed to reduce the weight placed on the damaged beams. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is working to arrange the repairs on the underside of the bridge.
“Having lost a lane of capacity on southbound Reston Parkway, a longer term pattern was put in place to regain some capacity in the form of a choice lane,” Ellen Kamilakis, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told FFXnow.
The truck crash happened several months ago, Kamilakis said. The left lane of the the southbound Reston Parkway over the toll road was closed on July 10.
While the left lane is still closed, the ramp to the eastbound toll road was re-striped as an exit and thru lane.
Hey Restonians! We know the left lane of SB Reston Pkwy over @dulles_toll_rd was closed after the bridge hit on 7/10. We're making a traffic pattern change to regain capacity. The left lane is still closed, but the ramp to EB DTR was restriped as an exit *and* a thru lane. pic.twitter.com/ha5ykz7AYg
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) August 16, 2023
A man died after hitting a deer on the Dulles Airport Access Highway in Tysons last night (Wednesday).
Police responded to the westbound lanes about a mile west of the Capital Beltway (I-495) for a single-vehicle crash around 8:17 p.m., says the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which has jurisdiction over the Dulles Access Road.
Upon arriving, officers found the adult, male driver dead in the vehicle, which police described as a “ride-share Toyota minivan.”
An injured passenger was transported to Reston Hospital Center by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, according to scanner traffic. Police confirmed that the passenger was a rideshare customer.
“Airport-bound traffic was detoured to the Dulles Toll Road during the accident reconstruction,” MWAA said.
Horrendous incident on the Dulles Access Road tonight. Rideshare driver headed to airport killed when he struck a deer in Tysons. Passenger also injured. Both access lanes closed, tolled lanes open @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/fHWSMj5NRY
— Tom Lynch (@TomLynch_) May 18, 2023
FATAL DEER-VS-AUTO CRASH — westbound Dulles Access Rd just past the tollbooth. One human dead, and another injured. #VATraffic pic.twitter.com/lBvDaRMzOc
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) May 18, 2023
Map via Google Maps
The days of saving up loose change to pay the Dulles Toll Road’s fees are officially in the past.
Effective today (Wednesday), the 14-mile highway also known as Route 237 has converted to an all-electronic, cashless payment system, joining the network of express lanes that criss-cross Northern Virginia.
“Eliminating cash toll collection is expected to speed traffic flow and benefit the environment by reducing emissions that would have been produced by vehicles waiting in toll-booth lines,” the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the road, said in a news release.
All coin baskets have now been deactivated.
The MWAA Board of Directors approved the plan to transition away from coin payments on Nov. 16. At that same meeting, the board also increased fees on the Dulles Toll Road for the first time in five years, a hike that took effect on Jan. 1.
Under the new system, payments can be made with an E-Z Pass or mobile apps. Drivers who don’t have an E-Z Pass transponder will be identified by their license plate and get an invoice mailed to them.
For those who “pay by plate,” two-axle vehicles will be charged $5.60 at the toll road’s main plaza and $3.60 on the ramps. That rate includes a $1.60 administrative fee that state law permits MWAA to collect “to recover the costs of pay-by-plate transactions.”
The fees can be paid online before or after an invoice arrives.
Fees are slightly lower for E-Z Pass users at $4 for the main plaza and $2 for the ramps, since they don’t have to pay the administrative fee.
According to MWAA, about 2% or 726,367 Dulles Toll Road transactions were paid by cash in 2022. The authority had already removed many toll booths to create E-Z Pass express lanes in 2019, and manual toll collections ceased in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dulles Toll Road stretches from Route 28 by the Dulles International Airport in the west to the Capital Beltway near Tysons to the east.
Toll revenue goes toward the highway’s operating and maintenance costs, while also funding construction of Metro’s Silver Line, which launched service from Reston to Ashburn on Nov. 15.
There are only a few days left before fee increases go into effect on the Dulles Toll Road.
Beginning Jan. 1, at the main line plaza, tolls will rise from $3.25 to $4 for two-axle vehicles, $6.50 to $8 for three-axle vehicles, $7.75 to $9.25 for four-axle vehicles, and $9 to $10.50 for five-axle vehicles.
The increase was approved by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors earlier this year. This is the first fee increase since 2019.
“Strategic debt management and refinancing efforts have kept toll rates lower than original projections through the years,” MWAA wrote in a statement.
The next toll increase will go into effect on 2028. Overall, hikes are expected every five years, according to MWAA. Increases are expected to continue through 2058.
At the ramps, tolls will increase from $1.25 to $2 for two-axle vehicles, $3 to $4 for three-axle vehicles, $3.50 to $4.50 for four-axle vehicles, and $4 to $5 for five-axle vehicles.
Toll booths will also be eliminated in the coming months, with the system switching to fully electronic payments.
Revenue from the tolls funds operating and maintenance costs, along with a portion of the construction costs for Silver Line. Service for the extension began in mid-November.
Drivers on the Dulles Toll Road can expect to pay higher tolls beginning next year.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Board of Directors voted yesterday morning to increase fees for users of the toll road — bringing tolls to $6 for the average driver.
The increase is expected to cover highway operations and maintenance costs, along with a dedicated set-aside for phase two of the Silver Line, which opened Tuesday (Nov. 15). The increase does not directly fund cost overruns associated with the project and has long been anticipated as part of a long-term funding plan.
At the main line plaza, tolls will rise from $3.25 to $4 for two-axle vehicles, $6.50 to $8 for three-axle vehicles, $7.75 to $9.25 for four-axle vehicles, and $9 to $10.50 for five-axle vehicles.
At the ramps, tolls will increase from $1.25 to $2 for two-axle vehicles, $3 to $4 for three-axle vehicles, $3.50 to $4.50 for four-axle vehicles, and $4 to $5 for five-axle vehicles.
The next toll increases is slated for 2028, according to MWAA’s board. “Modest” toll rate hikes are generally expected every five years, MWAA wrote in a statement.
MWAA also plans to collect a $1.60 administrative fee to process tolls for drivers who do not pay with the EZPass. The move comes as the toll road makes a shift to all electronic collections next year.
MWAA plans to eliminate toll boots at existing toll lanes in the coming months.
“Eliminating toll booths is expected to speed traffic flow and benefit the environment by reducing emissions that would have been produced by vehicles waiting in toll-booth lines,” MWAA wrote in a statement.
A plan to increase tolls on the Dulles Toll Road and eliminate the option to pay by cash is barreling towards approval next month.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is expected to vote on the toll increase at a Nov. 16 meeting, a spokesperson told FFXnow.
At a meeting late last week, a board committee unanimously approved both proposals. Tolls would generally rise from $3.25 to $4 at the main line plaza and from $1.50 to $2 on ramps. Similar increases are proposed for vehicles with three or more axles.
The change would go into effect after a public comment period closed earlier this year.
The next toll increase is expected in 2028 while the last toll increase happened in 2019.
Staff noted that so me residents opposed the use of tolls for additional costs associated with the Silver Line and the Dulles Metrorail Project.
“While many of the comments oppose the current allocation of responsibility for funding construction of the Dulles Metrorail Project, that allocation reflects policy decisions and agreements made at the federal, state and regional level over many years,” staff wrote in a statement.
The board will also consider collecting an administrative fee for vehicles that choose the pay-by-plate payment option. The fee — $1.60 per transaction– is not intended to generate any revenue.
The move comes after MWAA transitions from cash payments and moves towards payment via E-ZPass and mobile applications. Residents will have 30 days to pay the toll.
If approved, both proposals would go into effect on Jan. 1.
As the county officially approves paying an additional $40 million to finish the Silver Line Phase II, fare evasion continues to irk supervisors.
At yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the county followed through on the transportation committee’s recommendation last month to pay an additional $40.25 million to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) for the completion of the Silver Line Phase II.
As noted at the Sept. transportation committee meeting, the board didn’t have much choice in the matter. In July, MWAA agreed to increase the budget for the extension by $250 million which will be largely shouldered by Dulles Toll Road users. Because the original project agreement calls for Fairfax County to pay about 16% of the overage, the county owed an additional $40.25 million.
Last month, Board Chair Jeff McKay expressed his frustration about paying even more money for the much-delayed project but noted that it was a “requirement” and the county didn’t have the flexibility to not pay it “without significant negative consequences.”
At yesterday’s meeting, though, McKay struck a slightly different tone by focusing on the Silver Line Phase II’s potential to be a “game-changer” for the region.
“We can’t understate the importance of this project to the long-term success of Fairfax County,” McKay said. “It’s a major milestone.”
There remains no set date for when the line will be ready for riders, though Metro confirmed to FFXnow yesterday that it’s on track to open by Thanksgiving with the go-ahead to add more trains.
The supervisors also took a few moments at this week’s meeting to discuss Metro’s plans to stop fare evasion. Earlier this month, Metro announced it was ramping up enforcement and will be testing new station fare gates that are more difficult to jump over.
Metro estimates that fare evasion has cost the agency about $40 million this year, or nearly a quarter of its budget gap.
Several supervisors noted that they were pleased there was finally movement on better enforcement of fare evasion. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said there are certainly “equity issues” when it comes to enforcement, but “it has to be a level playing field.”
However, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust called fare evasion the “least of [Metro’s] challenges” in terms of securing long-term funding for a system that could be facing a $500 million funding gap next year.
“They need a plan that goes way beyond [dealing] with fare evasion,” said Foust.
