Average Toll Prices Up, Trips Down On I-66: VDOT Report

ARLINGTON, VA — Average Interstate 66 toll prices inside the Beltway increased while trips went down, according to a new quarterly report from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The report covers July to September 2019 and compares data to the same time period in 2018. During the morning tolling hours on eastbound I-66, trips decreased from 15,097 to 13,707, or 9.2 percent. The decline for the evening tolling hours on westbound I-66 was 18,013 to 17,314, or 3.9 percent.

Drivers can avoid the tolls if the vehicle has an E-ZPass Flex set to HOV mode and two or more people carpooling. Daily carpooling trips dropped from 13,790 to 13,327 per day, or 3.4 percent.

More people paid tolls over $40 in July to September 2019 compared to these months in 2018. The 1,065 trips with tolls over $40 represents 0.16 percent of trips in these months. In July to September, 315 trips had tolls over $40, or 0.05 percent.

Average toll prices saw a slight jump compared to the same time in 2018. The average morning toll price increase from $7.14 to $7.46 represents a 4.5 percent increase. The $4.31 to $4.64 change during the evening commute was a 7.7 percent increase.

VDOT noted that construction for the I-66 widening project is causing lower average speeds and longer travel times. Tolling is dynamically priced, meaning higher traffic volume could cause the toll price to increase.

The report also found faster average speeds and travel times on three arterial roads—Route 50, Route 29, and Route 7. The speeds and travel times were slower on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which VDOT attributed to increased construction and a multi-day closure for a sinkhole.

Tolling on I-66 inside the Beltway began in December 2017 between the Capital Beltway and Route 29 in Rosslyn. Tolling is in effect weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. eastbound and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. westbound. Solo drivers can use the road by paying a toll, while carpoolers with E-ZPass Flex set to HOV mode can continue to use the road for free.

I-66 inside the Beltway is free for all vehicles outside the tolling hours. A separate project will add toll lanes alongside three regular lanes on I-66 from the Beltway to University Boulevard in Gainesville.