Effort to block tolls on Prince William, Fairfax parkways gains steam

RICHMOND — An anti-tolling bill has unanimously passed the transportation subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates.

House Bill 2527 was presented by Tim Hugo (R-40, Fairfax, Prince William). If the bill were to become law, it would prevent localities from imposing tolls on Prince William and Fairfax County parkways without the approval of the General Assembly.

While there are currently no tolls on either the Fairfax or Prince William County Parkways, both the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) looked for public input on how to improve a 31 mile stretch from of the parkway from Route 7 in Herndon to the Route 1 corridor.

Area residents were concerned when among the possible solutions for improvements were toll lanes.

“Northern Virginians are already paying high enough tolls on I-66,” said Hugo. “There has been a discussion to place additional tolls on roads that have already been built with taxpayer monies. I introduced this bill to ensure that the Fairfax and Prince William County Parkways specifically are not tolled without General Assembly approval.”

“HB 2527 has no impact on existing Prince William County roads, and there is no support for tolls from the board,” commented PWC Transportation Administrator Marty Nohe. However, this wouldn’t preclude installing tolls on future roads and extensions in the county.

Another Hugo bill, HB 2511, also passed through the Transportation Subcommittee. This bill is passed would revert the hours on the I-66 HOT lanes inside the Beltway back to the original rush hours of 6:30 a.m/ to 9:00 a.m. for eastbound lanes and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for westbound lanes.

“This bill will not only ease pressure on secondary roads as drivers seek alternative routes,” said Hugo, “but Northern Virginians will no longer have to leave their homes earlier or work later to avoid the exorbitant tolls on I-66.” Tolls on I-66 can run from $1.50 to $4.50 depending on the time of day.

Supporting Hugo’s transportation bills is Danica Roem, the Democratic Delegate representing the 13th District which consists of Manassas Park and portions of Prince William County. As a candidate, Roem ran on a platform to make improvements on Route 28 and has filed several bills to study the issue.

She became a chief co-sponsor of the bill siting issues of equity on the use of toll roads. When asked about the possibility of tolling roads on Route 28, Ms. Roem didn’t feel that tolls were a viable option.

Now that the bill has gotten through a subcommittee, it must now pass the House floor, a Senate committee, the Senate floor, and signed by the Governor to be put into effect.

The Virginia Senate’s Transportation Committee is now reviewing the bill. If signed by the Governor, the bill would become law on July 1.