Virginia State Route 267

Virginia State Route 267
Length:	28 mi (45 km)
Direction:	East-West
Major cities:	Falls Church, VA, Tysons Corner, VA, Reston, VA, Herndon, VA, IAD, Ashburn, VA, Leesburg, VA
East end:	I-66 in Falls Church, VA
Major junctions:	VA 123 in Tysons Corner, VA I-495 in Tysons Corner, VA VA 7 in Tysons Corner, VA Ffx Co. Pkwy in Herndon, VA VA 28 in Sterling, VA
West end:	US 15 / VA 7 in Leesburg, VA
Established:	1964 (1995)
System	Virginia State Highways

Virginia State Route 267, commonly called the Toll Road is composed of three sections: the Dulles Toll Road, the Dulles Greenway and the Dulles Airport Access Road. The eastbound and westbound lanes of the Dulles Toll Road from Route 123 to Route 28 straddle the Dulles Airport Access Road, which is not signed as Route 267 but shares a corridor and ramps, and is officially considered part of 267.[1]

Dulles Airport Access Road

The Dulles Airport Access Road is a 4-lane highway that runs "inside" the Toll Road along its median. There are no general-access exits from the west-bound lanes, and no general-access entrances to the east-bound lanes (with the exception of gated slip ramps to and from the toll road that buses and emergency vehicles can use). The Access Road was built as part of the construction of Dulles Airport, and opened with the airport in 1962.

The Dulles Toll Road is operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation under contract with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the owner of the land under the Dulles Toll Road. The Dulles Airport Access Road can be used only for travel to and from Washington Dulles International Airport and other businesses (such as air freight, hotels, and gas stations) on the airport grounds. The restriction against "backtracking" (riding the Access Road westbound to the Airport and then eastbound to evade the toll on the Toll Road) is enforced by the police, and at one time it was very common for a commuter to ride westbound to the airport, buy a newspaper (and secure a receipt) at a gas station or hotel at the airport, and then ride the access road eastbound with impunity.

Dulles Toll Road

The main toll plaza of the Dulles Toll Road

A closer view of the electronic and traditional lanes

The Dulles Toll Road (Virginia Route 267) is an 8-lane, 14-mile (22.7 km) highway in Northern Virginia. It was built in 1984 by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). It begins just inside the Capital Beltway near Falls Church at a connector to Interstate 66 to Washington, DC, travels westward through Fairfax County past Dulles Airport, and terminates at the entrance to the Dulles Greenway, a privately owned toll road. Officially, the road is named the Omer L. Hirst - Adelard L. Brault Expressway, in honor of two notable but obscure Virginia state legislators. However, the road is rarely referred to by that name. The speed limit is 55 mph (90 km/h).

From the Capital Beltway, motorists exiting onto VA 267 toward Dulles Airport must choose between lanes marked Airport Traffic Only and To All Local Exits; the Airport Traffic Only lanes lead to the two westbound lanes of the Access Road. Eastbound, it works a bit differently. Dulles-originating traffic can choose destinations between Herndon exits (putting them on the mainline Toll Road) or further on (starting them on the Access Road), and transfer exits are provided from the Access Road to the Toll Road before the Herndon exits, Reston exits, and the Beltway; Access Road traffic to Route 7 gets a separate exit ramp from those of the Toll Road, then the two eastbound segments merge before the junction with Interstate 66.

The Dulles Toll Road is generally congested during rush hour, while the Access Road usually flows freely; this has led a few frustrated commuters near the west end of the highway to "backtrack" through the airport during their commute (morning: go west to the airport before heading east toward DC; evening: go all the way out to the airport then loop back east home), dodging both the tolls and the traffic. This is illegal without conducting "airport business" of some sort and enforcement efforts and penalties were increased by authorities to counter the practice.

A main toll plaza west of the Beltway interchange collects a 75 cent toll in both directions. In addition, toll booths are located on westbound exit ramps and eastbound entrance ramps, which collects tolls of 50 cents; although at the Route 7 interchange, tolls are only collected from Route 267 east to Route 7 east. All tollbooths are equipped with both the Smart Tag (Virginia) and E-ZPass (Maryland to Maine) electronic toll collection systems.

HOV-2 restrictions are in effect during weekday rush hours, 6:30 to 9:00am eastbound and 4:00 to 6:30pm westbound, limiting the left lane to vehicles with two or more passengers between VA 28 and the main toll plaza. Motorcycles and "clean fuel" vehicles (hybrid and compressed natural gas) are exempt from HOV restrictions in Virginia, allowing single-passenger vehicles of those types to use the lanes as well.

Dulles Greenway

The Dulles Greenway is a privately owned limited-access highway in Northern Virginia, running for 14 miles northwest from the end of the Dulles Toll Road to the Leesburg bypass (US 15/VA 7). Although privately owned, the highway is officially numbered VA 267 also. The speed limit is 65 mph (105 km/h).

The main toll plaza of the Dulles Greenway

The road was privately built and is not a public asset. The current owner is "Toll Road Investors Partnership II" (TRIP II), which is a consortium of the Bryant/Crane Family LLC, and Kellogg Brown & Root (KB&R). On August 31, 2005, Australian firm Macquarie Infrastructure Group announced that they have paid $533 million to TRIP II to acquire its 86.7% ownership of the Greenway, and is negotiating with KB&R for the remaining ownership rights. [2]

The road was envisioned as early as the 1970s, when new residents were attracted to Loudoun County because of the relatively low cost of real estate. The road was completed and opened in 1995 and is often cited as a success story of public-private partnership. Tolls for two-axle vehicles are a maximum of $3.20. The Greenway is also one of two routes where a subscription membership (exclusive to Smart Tag) allows for an additional discount. Some area commuters find the tolls to be expensive and use the alternative (free) routes, Virginia Routes 7 and 28, both of which are generally more congested.

Currently, the Greenway is 6 lanes from the mainline toll plaza until the Claiborne Parkway interchange, and 4 lanes from Claiborne Parkway to the Leesburg Bypass. Construction is underway to widen the remainder of the highway to 6 lanes.

See also

• Private highway

External links

• VDOT: Virginia Toll Facilities FAQ
• Smart Tag - Dulles Toll Road
• Dulles Greenway website
• History of Washington Dulles International Airport (see the section on "Access Roads")