How do Northern Virginians like their privatized Dulles Greenway?

[howaboutme]

Interesting letter from Republican Congressman Wolf "outraged" over the cost of tolls on the Dulles Greenway toll road which was purchased by the Australian Banking consortium Macquarie Group in 2005. Apparently this road has the highest toll per mile in the USA and soon to be almost $5 for 14 miles in rush hour. If Republicans are making an issue about this example of privatization, it needs to be made an issue elsewhere. http://www.loudoungop.com/news.php?id=6081

Privatization of our public assets is a ticket to our serfdom and to even further corruption as these future oligarchs, just as in Russia, will own the US politicians. Russia had an economic collapse in the 1990s and that led to the privatization of public assets by politically connected entities.

We are on the same path and we are going to see the same outcome of the plundering of our nation if we allow it. Perhaps Russia was but a trial run?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dulles-greenway-tolls-start-increasing-2009-rush-hour-motorists-pay-more

[atreides1]

1. It's privately owned, never belonged to the state

The Dulles Greenway is a privately owned toll road in Northern Virginia, running for 12.53 miles (20.17 km) northwest from the end of the Dulles Toll Road to the Leesburg Bypass (U.S. Route 15/State Route 7). Although privately owned, the highway is also part of SR 267. The speed limit is 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).


The main toll plaza of the Dulles GreenwayThe 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, the Franklin L. Haney Co., and Kellogg Brown & Root (KB&R). On August 31, 2005, Australian firm Macquarie Infrastructure Group announced that they had paid $533 million to TRIP II to acquire its 86.7% ownership of the Greenway, and were negotiating with KB&R for the remaining ownership rights.

VDOT History Highlights
1988:
Legislators allow private companies to build and operate for-profit toll roads. Plans for the first such facility - an extension of the Dulles Toll Road - are approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in 1989.

If nothing else, this shows that Wolf is full of crap and he's just trying to create a situation where there isn't one...

[countingbluecars]

2. My husband travels the Greenway

everyday. It cuts 20 minutes off his commute and is much safer than the single lane country roads that he would otherwise have to travel. True, it is very expensive. We pay about $1,200 each year.

Edit-this was meant as a reply to OP.

[howaboutme]

4. Thanks

for the incite. I do not miss the DC traffic, and I'm sure it must be much worse now, having done the Oakton to Columbia MD commute for years. I might have paid $1200 too for a shortcut.

[howaboutme]

3. Seems very expensive for 12 miles

If nothing else, this shows that Wolf is full of crap and he's just trying to create a situation where there isn't one...

Thanks for the reply and clarification. I regularly used the Dulles Tool Rd years ago when I lived in NORVA (Oakton) and used it to pick up the beltway on the way to Mont. County.

The toll road was publicly funded and built, as I recollect. It cost then only quarters to use it, not $5 each way. The Greenway wasn't built. The important point here IMO is the exorbitant cost of a privately funded and operated highway as compared to public roads. Of course it was built later and land acquisition costs were higher.

I still don't like the idea of privatization for public services because the inevitable result is both corruption and usually less service for more money. I was surprised to accidentally run across this Republican Congressman complaining about the private costs.