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This 2006 photo shows the westbound Dulles Airport Access Road (VA 267) at the Idylwood Road (VA 695) overpass in McLean. This section of VA 267 was built in the 1980s with a mass transit link to Dulles Airport in mind, but construction of the Metrorail Silver Line to Dulles did not start until 2009. The initial section of the Silver Line opened in 2014, with the extension to Dulles now scheduled to open in late 2022. (Photo by Laura Siggia-Anderson.)

Dulles Airport Access Road

Length:
Constructed:

16.2 miles (26.0 kilometers)
1959-1985

Dulles Toll Road (VA 267)

Length:
Constructed:

13.7 miles (22.0 kilometers)
1982-1995

Passenger car toll
(both directions, non-airport traffic)

$3.25 (cash or EZ-Pass)

Trucks are prohibited east of EXIT 19 (VA 123) in McLean.

ONCE PLANNED FOR "BURKE AIRPORT": In the immediate postwar era, Washington National (now Reagan National) Airport was increasingly unable to handle traffic from new, larger commercial aircraft, and with even larger jet aircraft on the horizon, officials began to consider a relief facility to handle future air traffic. In 1950, Congress passed the Washington Airport Act for "the construction, protection, operation, and maintenance of a public airport in or in the vicinity of the District of Columbia." After considering several sites, including Andrews Air Force Base and Friendship (now BWI) Airport in Maryland, the Federal government initially selected Burke, which was then a farming community in southwestern Fairfax County, for the 4,500-acre airport.

The plan included a four-lane access road beginning at the I-95 / I-395 / I-495 Springfield Interchange, and extending about four miles west to the airport site in Burke, just south of the intersection of VA 645 (Burke Lake Road) and VA 652 (Burke Road). Even as the Federal government began buying land for the proposed 4,500-acre airport, local opposition arose to the project. In the face of this opposition, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered planning to be stopped, and land that was acquired to be sold, at the Burke airport site. He also reopened the site selection process, which recommended the site of Blue Ridge Airport in Willard Crossroads, near the border of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. In 1958, President Eisenhower and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (formerly the CAA, now the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA) settled on this site for the proposed "Chantilly Airport," which at 9,800 acres was more than twice the size of the originally planned Burke site.

PLANNING THE CHANTILLY AIRPORT ROUTE: Planning for the freeway began immediately after the Federal government announced plans for the Chantilly Airport site. Officials suggested the following alternatives, all of which were to entail construction of a four-lane freeway:

  • Upgrade the existing US 50 to a freeway west from Arlington to the southern edge of the airport property. This plan was under consideration when US 50 was presented as an alternative for I-66 through Virginia.

  • Use the existing right-of-way for the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which was then under construction, to the Capital Beltway (I-495). West of I-495, the freeway was to extend due west to airport property. The route was to have been north of the existing alignment to Reston, then continue along the existing alignment west to the airport.
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  • Build a new route west from the Chain Bridge (and a possible Arizona Avenue Freeway on the District side of the Potomac River) through McLean to VA 123. West of VA 123, the route was to continue west through Tysons, Wolf Trap, Reston, and Herndon en route to the airport site.

  • Build a new route beginning at the I-66 / I-495 interchange in Merrifield and continuing northwest to Reston. At Reston, the freeway would continue along the existing alignment west to the airport.
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  • Build a new route beginning at I-66 at Falls Church north to VA 123 in McLean. West of VA 123, the route was to continue west through Tysons, Wolf Trap, Reston, and Herndon en route to the airport site.

The third, fourth, and fifth alternatives were to have no intermediate interchanges between I-495 and the airport property, as that stretch was to have been under the jurisdiction of the CAA. In all cases, the freeway was to have been with Federal funds. On December 25, 1958, the US Department of Commerce selected the fifth alternative, which at $25.1 million was the most costly alternative. However, the CAA defended this decision, stating the long-run potential for time and cost savings.

The freeway, which had a 70 MPH speed limit, was designed with a 400-foot-wide right-of-way to accommodate the construction of additional lanes in the future. Overpasses were designed to be long enough to accommodate the construction of these outer lanes.

Construction began in 1959, with an originally scheduled completion date of 1961, though Federal budget concerns delayed the opening of the airport and access road until 1962. The Dulles Airport Access Road was opened to traffic on November 17, 1962. This date coincided with the opening of Dulles International Airport, which was the first airport in the world designed to handle jet aircraft exclusively. The eastern terminus of the freeway was a partial interchange at VA 123 (Dolley Madison Boulevard) in Tysons, just east of the Capital Beltway, though graded surfaces hinted at a future eastern extension.

This 2016 photo shows the westbound Dulles Toll Road (VA 267) approaching EXIT 17 (VA 684 / Spring Hill Road) in McLean. The ramp on the left directs motorists bound exclusively Airport for Dulles onto the toll-free Dulles Airport Access Road. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

"We want to keep the airport 40 minutes from downtown." - Unnamed FAA spokesman quoted in the February 9, 1963 edition of The Washington Post on his agency's desire to keep commuters off the Dulles Airport Access Road

IT TOOK MORE THAN TWO DECADES TO EXPAND THE ROAD: As early as 1959, when the Dulles Airport Access Road was in its early construction stages, the newly reorganized FAA, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the Virginia Department of Highways (formerly the VDH, now the Virginia Department of Transportation, or VDOT) reached an agreement calling for the construction of four additional expressway lanes flanking the Dulles Airport Access Road "to serve local traffic in the Northern Virginia area as well as airport traffic." The FAA and the NCPC had considered transferring this right-of-way to the National Parks Service (NPS), though the NPS had stated early on that it would block construction of parallel roadways on this right-of-way.

As it was intended for use solely for airport-related traffic, the Dulles Airport Access Road was designed with no exit ramps in the westbound traffic, though westbound traffic bound for the airport could enter the freeway at select entry points. In the eastbound traffic, there were only exit ramps for local traffic, and no entrance ramps for Washington-bound traffic. Local commuters seeking to travel east from northern Fairfax County first had to travel westbound toward Dulles Airport, then turn around and travel eastbound toward their destinations.

During the first decade of operation, the FAA repeatedly offered the VDH the use of the flanking rights-of-way to build parallel roadways, but the VDH rebuffed the FAA's overtures. However, by 1973, the VDH changed its view on building these roadways, with the provision that the two additional lanes in each direction--as the state proposed--would be financed by tolls. The estimated cost for the additional lanes was $11 million, though the state estimated it would save at least $2 million in land acquisition by using the rights-of-way reserved a decade earlier.

The proposed toll lanes languished in the Virginia General Assembly through much of the 1970s as the state commissioned additional studies on the route, notably as I-66, along with the Dulles Airport Access Road connection, had yet to be built. The Federal government's approval of I-66 construction between the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and the Capital Beltway in 1977--this became known as the "Coleman Compromise" - ultimately paved the way for studies to be finalized.

The Virginia General Assembly approved the toll lanes in 1979, as well as the sale of $57 million in revenue bonds to finance construction. However, the sale of the bonds was delayed until 1982 as the state awaited a more favorable interest rate environment in which to sell the bonds. The state, along with the FAA (which still owned the right-of-way), to settle with landowners adjoining the proposed lanes.

Another key obstacle was Wolf Trap Farm Park (now the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts), which was under the jurisdiction of the NPS. The location of Wolf Trap figured prominently in the planning of the Dulles Airport Access Road in the late 1950s, as the original owner of the land, activist and philanthropist Catherine Filene Shouse, was influential in shifting the alignment of the roadway south of the Wolf Trap property. The state originally planned to build a 25-foot-high sound barrier on the southern edge of Wolf Trap Park, but engineers hired by NPS recommended that the sound wall be at least 40 feet high. The state eventually agreed to build the higher wall on the condition that it did not have to pay the additional cost of the higher wall. The non-profit Wolf Trap Foundation agreed to pay three-eighths of the additional cost, though in 1986, the Virginia General Assembly voted to compensate the Foundation.

This 2016 photo shows the westbound Dulles Toll Road (VA 267) approaching EXIT 9 (VA 28 / Sully Road) in Herndon. The roadway splits beyond EXIT 9 for the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Greenway (VA 267). In the median of the Dulles Toll Road, construction crews continue work on the Metrorail Silver Line at the Herndon Station, which is now scheduled to open in late 2022. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

TOLL LANE CONSTRUCTION FINALLY PROCEEDS: Following the $57 million bond sale, the state began construction of the Dulles Toll Road in December 1982. One month later, the FAA formally granted to VDOT a "Deed of Easement" to build, operate, and maintain the toll lanes on the rights-of-way adjacent to the existing Dulles Airport Access Road.

The first piece of the Toll Road-related work was actually the 3.5-mile (5.6-kilometer) extension of the Dulles Airport Access Road. The four-lane, toll-free freeway section, which had a wide center median to accommodate a future Metrorail line, was opened to traffic in November 1983 and cost $25 million to build. As there was no interchanges between VA 123 and I-66, and as the recently-opened I-66 (it was opened to traffic in December 1982) was restricted to high-occupancy vehicles (HOV) east of the Capital Beltway, access on this section of the Dulles Airport Access Road was restricted to HOV use east of VA 123. Moreover, trucks are prohibited from using this section given the truck restriction on I-66 east of the Capital Beltway.

The new Dulles Toll Road was opened to traffic on October 1, 1984, three months ahead of schedule. In addition to the construction of 13 miles (21 miles) of twin two-lane carriageways in each direction, the work included the construction of mainline toll plazas just east of VA 7 (Leesburg Pike) in McLean. It also included the construction of new interchange ramps (previously the interchanges were incomplete ones designed exclusively for airport-bound traffic), as well as new entrance ramp tolls (except at the partial interchange at Wolf Trap, where the ramp tolls were not installed).

It was at this time that new VA 267 appeared along the Dulles Toll Road. As the Dulles Airport Access Road remained under the jurisdiction of the Federal government, the free airport-bound lanes did not receive the VA 267 designation. In 1991, the Dulles Toll Road was ceremonially renamed the "Omer L. Hirst-Adelard L. Brault Expressway" for the two Virginia state legislators who supported construction of the toll lanes, though the road is rarely referred to by this name.

This 2018 photo shows the Dulles Airport Access Road (center roadways) and Dulles Toll Road (VA 267, outer roadways) looking east from VA 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) in Reston. (Photo by Raymond C. Martin; https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73968756.)

HOV FOR THE TOLL LANES: With the new toll lanes reaching the design capacity of 40,000 vehicles per day (AADT) within one month of their opening in 1984, and approaching 70,000 vehicles per day by the end of the decade, discussion turned to building a third lane in each direction on the Dulles Toll Road for exclusive HOV use. As an interim measure to fight congestion, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) permitted carpools to use the eastbound toll-free Dulles Airport Access Road in July 1988.

Construction of a third travel lane in each direction on the Dulles Toll Road began in 1989. Although these lanes were designed to be used by carpools and buses, they were only used as such for a short period. The third lanes opened from EXIT 9 (VA 28 / Sully Road) east to EXIT 12 (VA 602 / Reston Parkway) in October 1991; followed by eastern extensions to EXIT 14 (VA 674 / Hunter Mill Road) in November 1991 and to EXIT 18 (I-495 / Capital Beltway) in December 1991.

Initially, the third lanes were open to all vehicles, but on September 1, 1992, the state imposed the HOV restrictions, which required three or more occupants per vehicle, on the new inner lanes. However, the restrictions did not last long, as they were repealed by Governor Doug Wilder on October 2, 1992, amid pressure from local leaders and concerns that the lanes were underutilized. Just prior to opening the third lanes in 1991, VDOT released a study that found only 7% of vehicles using the Dulles Toll Road had three or more occupants, and that two-thirds of drivers opposed rush-hour carpool lanes on the toll road. Governor Wilder imposed a six-month moratorium on tolls, but ultimately, the tolls on the third lanes were suspended indefinitely.

ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT HOV LANES: Nevertheless, advocates for HOV lanes on the Dulles corridor continued to press their case at the state level. In January 1993, Mark Warner, who served on the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board before eventually becoming the state's governor and later US Senator, proposed that a two-lane reversible HOV roadway be built in the center median of the Dulles Airport Access Road. The HOV roadway would be a temporary solution until the Metrorail Silver Line to Dulles was built, at which time two new HOV lanes would be built for the Dulles Toll Road, or the shoulders would be converted into HOV use during rush hours. The committee eventually found that this proposal was "too expensive and impractical to design," according to The Washington Post.

In April 1993, Warner's committee decided on building a fourth lane in each direction of the Dulles Toll Road that would be set aside for HOV use during rush hours. Under this proposal, VDOT would spend $25 million to widen the existing roadway by six feet, narrow the width of the existing roadways from 12 to 11 feet, and narrow the shoulder widths from 12 to 10 feet. No additional land would need to be purchased, such that it would not interfere with long-range plans (yet to be implemented) to widen the toll-free Dulles Airport Access Road from two to three lanes in each direction. The announcement of the new toll lanes was a timely one as the state announced a public-private plan to build a 14-mile (22.5-kilometer) extension of VA 267, the Dulles Greenway, northwest toward Loudoun County.

In March 1995, Governor George Allen signed a bill to build the fourth travel lanes on the Dulles Toll Road for HOV use. The state sold $45 million in bonds to finance the project, whose projected costs had nearly doubled in the prior two-year period, though this amount did not include an additional $15 million for the renovation of existing toll plazas to accommodate electronic toll collection under the Fastoll (later EZ-Pass) system.

Construction of the fourth Dulles Toll Road lanes was beset by cost overruns, including $12 million in additional engineering expenses (including new sound walls), $9 million in additional land acquisition and utility relocation expenses, and an additional $2 million to make room for future Metrorail stations. The $71 million expansion project was completed on December 15, 1998, and although costs were nearly three times the 1993 projection of $25 million, the expansion still proved timely, as AADT counts had risen by more than 70% in the prior decade to nearly 120,000 vehicles per day.

A CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP: In 2005, five private firms submitted proposals to VDOT to operate the Dulles Toll Road under the Virginia Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA) through private-public partnerships. Some proposals included a substantial payment to the Commonwealth, which would be used for transit and road improvements in the Dulles corridor. However, VDOT went with a 2006 proposal by the MWAA, which committed to spending $3.7 billion for roadway operations ($2.0 billion) and the construction of the Metrorail Silver Line to Dulles Airport ($1.7 billion); these amounts would be financed through a mix of toll revenue and loans from the Federal government through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA).

The Silver Line project was divided into two phases. Work on Phase I, which extended from the East Falls Church station west to the Wiehle-Reston East station, began in 2008 and was completed in July 2014. Work on Phase II, which extends the route of the Silver Line northwest to Dulles Airport and Ashburn, Loudoun County, began in 2014. Phase II originally was scheduled for completion in early 2020, but construction and Covid-related delays pushed the expected opening date out to late 2022. According to the US Department of Transportation, the total cost of both phases of the Silver Line at $5.8 billion, more than three times the projected 2006 cost.

THE DULLES CORRIDOR TODAY: According to VDOT, the average section on the combined 12-lane Dulles Airport Access Road / Dulles Toll Road facility carries approximately 160,000 vehicles per day (AADT). Despite the popularity of the toll lanes, "backtracking" (i.e., commuters traveling onto the toll-free westbound Dulles Airport Access Road toward Dulles Airport, then returning eastbound toward Washington) remains an issue. Unmarked police cars under the jurisdiction of the MWAA patrol the roadways to watch for motorists without official airport business, with fines starting at $92 and a license penalty of three points.

This 2020 screencap shows the eastbound Dulles Toll Road (VA 267) approaching EXIT 18 (I-495 / Capital Beltway) in Tysons. (Video by John Verrier.)

A NEW INTERSTATE DESIGNATION FOR THE DULLES CORRIDOR: The Dulles Airport Access Road-Dulles Toll Road corridor, as well as the Dulles Greenway, should be considered for inclusion in the Interstate Highway System as I-366, as these roads represent a logical extension of the national highway network while providing direct access to I-66. Moreover, an extension of I-366 onto the Dulles Greenway would provide an Interstate link to fast-growing Loudoun County.

One potential obstacle--albeit a small one--is that the VA 366 designation is already in use, though it is unsigned. The current VA 366 is a short road (0.7 mile / 1.1 kilometers) serving John Tyler Community College in Chesterfield County. However, this can be remedied by assigning another 300-series designation (which typically is used for institutions) for this road.

SOURCES: "New Chantilly Artery Urged," The Washington Post (1/25/1958); "Study Set on Highway to Chantilly," The Washington Post (6/10/1958); "Chantilly Road Hearing Slated," The Washington Post (8/14/1958); "Chantilly Access Road Choice Stirs Varied Views" by Muriel Guinn, The Washington Post (9/13/1958); "Most Costly Road Picked for Airport," The Washington Post (12/26/1958); "Public Freeway to Dulles Airport Advocated by Capital Planners" by Laurence Stern, The Washington Post (4/06/1962); "Dulles Site Tied to Three Sisters Span," The Washington Post (12/13/1967); "Virginia Tollway Along Dulles Road Studied" by Donnel Nunes, The Washington Post (6/04/1973); "Dulles Access Road a Gantlet of Hazards" by Ron Shaffer, The Washington Post (8/16/1973); "Dulles Tollway Under Study" by Maggie Locke, The Washington Post (2/23/1978); "Growth, Dulles Toll Road Eyed" by Thomas Grubisich, The Washington Post (11/21/1978); "Dulles Highway Extension Endorsed in McLean Meeting" by Paul Hodge, The Washington Post (1/28/1979);  "In Assembly: Equal Doses of Successes, Failures Mark 1979 Session" by Paul Edwards and Karlyn Barker, The Washington Post (3/08/1979); "Dulles Toll Road Gets Tentative Approval" by Paul Hodge, The Washington Post (9/22/1982); "Virginia Sells Bonds To Construct Dulles Toll Road" by Mary Battiata, The Washington Post (12/02/1982); "A New Highway: Short Addition to Dulles Access Will Be Speedy for Commuters" by Paul Hodge, The Washington Post (9/08/1983); "A Primer for Driving New Dulles Toll Road" by Stephen J. Lynton, The Washington Post (9/30/1984); "Dulles Toll Road Is Opened" by Paul Hodge and Barbara Carton, The Washington Post (10/02/1984); "Car Pool Lanes Urged on Parts of Capital Beltway and I-270" by John Lancaster, The Washington Post (6/14/1988); "Dulles Road Restriction Is Eased" by Neil Henderson, The Washington Post (7/07/1988); "Dulles Toll Road Gets a New Name," The Washington Post (4/18/1991); "Car Pool Restrictions Coming Soon for New Lanes on Dulles Toll Road" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (10/11/1991); "Toll Road HOV Lanes Take Effect," The Washington Post (9/01/1992); "Wilder Ends HOV Restrictions on Dulles Toll Road Motorists" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (10/03/1992); "Plan Would Put Car Pool Lane in Access Road Median" by Stephen C. Fehr and Peter Baker, The Washington Post (1/27/1993); "Plan Would Add Fourth Lane to Dulles Toll Road for Car Pools" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (4/02/1993); "Virginia To Seek Money To Widen Toll Road" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (10/29/1994); "Dulles Toll Road To Be Widened To Add Fourth, Rush-Hour Lane," The Washington Post (3/26/1995); "Electronic Collecting To Begin on Dulles Toll Road Monday" by Alice Reid, The Washington Post (4/10/1996); "Cost of Dulles Car Pool Lanes Exceeds Budget by 40%" by Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post (5/14/1998); "Car Pool Lanes Smooth Rush on Crowded Dulles Toll Road" by Alice Reid and Alan Sipress, The Washington Post (12/16/1998); "Dulles Toll Road Permit and Operating Agreement," Virginia Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (2006); "Police Crack Down on Dulles Access Highway 'Backtracking'" by Adam Tuss, WRC-TV (11/15/2013); "Dulles Airport Was Originally Supposed To Be in Burke, but Neighbors Successfully Stopped It" by Mike Grinnell, Greater Greater Washington (8/02/2017); Cultural Landscape Report: Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, National Parks Service (2021); Dulles Online; HistoricAerials.com; Scott Kozel; William F. Yurasko.

  • VA 267 shield by Scott Colbert.
  • I-366 shield by Steve Anderson.
  • Dulles Toll Road shield by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
  • Lightpoles by Millerbernd Manufacturing Company.
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DULLES AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD AND DULLES TOLL ROAD (VA 267) LINKS:

DULLES AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD AND DULLES TOLL ROAD CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS:

DULLES AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD AND DULLES TOLL ROAD VIDEO LINKS:

THE EXITS OF WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE:

  • VA 267 exit list by Steve Anderson.

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