This 2016 photo shows the westbound Dulles Greenway (VA 267) approaching EXIT 7 (VA 607 / Loudoun County Parkway) in Ashburn. Work on the Metrorail Silver Line is shown in its early stages of construction. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

Length:
Constructed:

12.5 miles (20.2 kilometers)
1993-1995

Passenger car toll
(both directions, EZ-Pass or credit)

$5.25 (off-peak)
$5.80 (peak)

A LONG-SOUGHT LINK TO LOUDOUN COUNTY: The Dulles Greenway was first conceived by local officials in the 1970s to connect Dulles International Airport with Loudoun County. According to the US Census Bureau, Loudoun County had a population of 37,000 in 1970, but given the county's proximity to Dulles Airport, fast-growing Fairfax County, and Washington, DC, local officials anticipated significant growth in the decades ahead. Loudoun County already had proposals to build a new Outer Beltway - which was never built - and an upgraded VA 28 (Sully Road) in the eastern part of the county, but this proposal was to connect Dulles Airport with Leesburg, the seat of Loudoun County.

Plans for the Dulles Greenway remained dormant until the mid-1980s. By that time, the population of Loudoun County had grown to 57,000, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was seeking ways to alleviate congestion near Dulles Airport, as well as future congestion along VA 7 (Leesburg Pike) and VA 28. In 1986, Governor Gerald Baliles added the proposed route as part of a comprehensive plan - which was to have been funded by increased fuel and general sales taxes - to expand Virginia's highway network. Opponents to the plan cited the use of increased general sales taxes rather than bond issuance to fund transportation projects.

In response to Governor Bailies' plan, a consortium of developers represented by the Municipal Development Corporation (MDC), along with engineering design firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, devised a plan to build a 10-mile (16-kilometer)-long, privately owned-and-operated toll road connecting the recently completed Dulles Toll Road (VA 267) with Leesburg Pike (VA 7) just east of downtown Leesburg. The originally planned northern terminus for the private toll road was slightly east of the current terminus just south of downtown Leesburg. It was to be the first privately-owned toll road in the United States since the demise of the privately-owned Long Island Motor Parkway in the 1930s.

Most of the plan in the area of the proposed toll road was open space, but much of this land was owned by developers, and a number of residential and commercial projects were either planned or approved. The original cost estimate for the toll road extension was $35 million, though the developers pledged to donate up to $20 million worth of land, as they expected the value of their land to increase significantly upon completion of the toll road. According to the Washington Post, the developers said they did not rule out the likelihood of turning the toll road over to the state, but that for the time being, it would remain under private ownership.

A BOOST FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY: In 1988, State Senator Charles Waddell introduced legislation to build a private toll road from the western end of the Dulles Toll Road northwest to Leesburg. By then, the cost of the "Dulles Toll Road Extension" - as it was then called - had risen nearly fourfold to $125 million, though the Toll Road Corporation of Virginia (later known as "TRIP II") - the new name for the consortium - appeared to agree upon the current 12.5-mile (20.2-kilometer)-long alignment for the project. In the final day of its 1988 session, the Virginia General Assembly approved the Virginia Highway Corporation Act (VHCA), which permitted private developers to submit plans to the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to build and operate toll roads in the state. Under the terms of the VHCA, toll rates and rates of return would be set by the SCC, such that the toll road would function as a privately-owned, publicly-regulated utility. The VHCA also stipulated that the toll road would be turned over to the state, though there was no specific time provided.

On November 19, 1988, the Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the updated alignment with interchanges at the following locations:

  • VA 28 (Sully Road) and Dulles Airport (eastbound exit only) in Sterling
  • VA 606 (Old Ox Road) in Dulles
  • VA 607 (Loudoun County Parkway) in Ashburn; this connecting road would be built in the 1990s
  • VA 641 (Ashburn Road) in Ashburn; this interchange eventually was built instead for VA 772 (Ashburn Village Boulevard)
  • VA 901 (Claiborne Parkway) in Ashburn; this connecting road would be built in the 1990s
  • VA 659 (Belmont Ridge Road) in Ashburn
  • VA 653 (Shreve Mill Road) in Leesburg
  • Battlefield Parkway in Leesburg
  • US 15 / VA 7 (Leesburg Bypass) in Leesburg
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This 2016 photo shows the eastbound Dulles Greenway (VA 267) eastbound at EXIT 7 (Loudoun County Parkway) in Ashburn. Construction of the Metrorail construction to Ashburn was in its early stages and continued through 2022. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES: By the summer of 1989, VDOT appeared to abandon its own plan for a Dulles-to-Leesburg freeway, endorsing TRIP II's private toll road plan instead. Several obstacles remained to be overcome, notably the need for a 230-acre (93-hectare) easement at the northern perimeter of Dulles Airport (for which TRIP II would need to pay rental fees), TRIP II's submission of plans for tolls and rates of return, and final approval from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

As 1989 drew to a close, perhaps the most significant obstacle came from two large landowners - one a local farm family, the other a Maryland-based corporate developer - who refused to donate land for the project, which was a key part of TRIP II's business plan. TRIP II did not have the ability to condemn land, but the group petitioned Loudoun County officials to condemn the two properties needed for the road. Ultimately, the condemnation proceedings were not necessary, and after a year of negotiations, the two holdouts negotiated an agreement with TRIP II.

On July 6, 1990, the SCC gave TRIP II final state approval to build its toll road. Under the agreement, the SCC granted TRIP II a 40-year operating concession under a design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) public-private partnership, and authorized rates of return as high as 30% for some private investors. Key to the SCC's approval was a declaration by VDOT that it had no active plans to build the road with public funds. Moreover, neither Loudoun County nor the Town of Leesburg raised any objections to its construction.

In March 1991, TRIP II received approval from the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority. Under this agreement, TRIP II agreed to pay rent for the use of 230 acres of Dulles Airport through which the proposed toll road was to pass. Two months later, TRIP II received approval from the Army Corps of Engineers for the 14-mile-long project. The key sticking point for the Corps' approval was a 45-acre section of wetlands through which the toll road was to pass. To mitigate this impact, TRIP II agreed to create or enhance 108 acres of wetlands (later raised to 150 acres) elsewhere in Loudoun County.

A FINANCIAL LIFELINE: By the summer of 1992, the Dulles Greenway appeared in jeopardy as TRIP II was unable to obtain additional financing for the toll road, whose projected cost had risen to $300 million, and that fall, TRIP II had laid off most of its dozen employees. However, by December 1992, one of the project partners, Michael Crane, who was a member of the Bryant family (a prominent family in Loudoun County), pledged $25 million of his own money to move the Dulles Greenway forward. This gave the confidence for several financial institutions, led by Barclays Bank of New York, to commit an additional $256 million towards the project.

With this announcement, Crane said that TRIP II would not need public financing to build the road, but did not rule out this possibility for future widening or repaving. Under the terms of the financing agreement, which comprised $40 million in private equity and $310 million in privately-placed taxable debt, the toll road would revert to state ownership after 40 years. With financing finally in place, workers broke ground on the Dulles Greenway on September 29, 1993.

This 2018 photo shows the Dulles Greenway (VA 267) looking east from Sycolin Road (VA 625 and VA 643) in Leesburg (Photo by Raymond C. Martin; https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73872963)

"Pioneers� always have arrows in their back." - Suzanne Conrad, Greenway spokesperson quoted in The Washington Post in describing the innovative approach to the development and financing of the Dulles Greenway

AN ACCELERATED CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE: The Dulles Greenway was originally built with four lanes (two in each direction) for its entire length from the mainline toll plaza in Sterling to the western terminus at EXIT 1 (US 15 / VA 7) in Leesburg. However, it was built within a 250-foot-wide right-of-way to accommodate up to 12 travel lanes, as well as a minimum 40-foot-wide median to accommodate a future rapid transit (Metro) extension. The mainline toll plaza was built with 14 lanes, all of which were designed for electronic, transponder-based tolling from the beginning (the Dulles Greenway was among the first toll roads in the United States to have this). Special attention was given to environmental concerns, given that Magalen Bryant, the owner of Lochneau, Ltd. (a key investor in the project), had a long history of environmental activism.

At the onset of construction, TRIP set a completion deadline in the spring of 1996, but thanks to a highly coordinated construction schedule, the Dulles Greenway was completed ahead of time on September 30, 1995. The original toll for passenger cars was $1.75.

IT WAS BUILT, BUT THEY DIDN'T COME: When the Dulles Greenway opened, the initial traffic estimate called for annualized average daily traffic (AADT) of 70,000 vehicles, but in 1996 - the first full year of operation - the AADT count was only about 10,000 vehicles per day. With expected usage significantly below expectations, TRIP II found itself in default as it failed to make a $7 million interest payment to its lenders and a $3.6 million payment to the state. To attract users and boost revenue, TRIP II received permission to raise the speed limit on the entire length of the Greenway to 65 MPH, from 55 MPH, and temporarily reduced tolls to $1.00. While these measures boosted usage, they failed to deliver higher revenue, given improvements on nearby state highways (north-south VA 28 / Sully Road and east-west VA 7 / Leesburg Pike).

In 1999, after negotiations with lenders and VDOT to cure the default, along with additional equity investment, TRIP II refinanced all outstanding debt obligations with four different series of taxable bonds. Soon thereafter, in 2000, TRIP II implemented its first toll hike to $2.00 for passenger cars. By then, AADT counts had doubled to 20,000 vehicles per day as new developments began to be built in Loudoun County.

This 2024 photo shows the westbound Dulles Greenway at EXIT 2B (Compass Creek Parkway) in Leesburg. This exit ramp was opened in 2019 to serve new development in the area, including a "big-box" retail center and data centers. (Photo by David Golub, www.eastcoastroads.com.)

THE GREENWAY FINALLY GAINS SOME MOMENTUM: The population of Loudoun County, which had doubled from 86,000 in 1990 to 170,000 in 2000, nearly doubled again to 312,000 in the first decade of the 21st century. The Dulles Greenway accommodated this rush as its AADT count more than doubled to about 50,000 vehicles per day. To accommodate this traffic, TRIP II announced plans in 2005 to expand the Greenway to six lanes (three lanes) for entire length, except for a 1.1-mile (1.8-kilometer) stretch of the westbound roadway approaching the Leesburg terminus at EXIT 1, as well as new interchanges for EXIT 2 (Battlefield Parkway) and EXIT 3 (VA 653 / Shreve Mill Road), also in Leesburg. It also announced plans to expand the mainline toll plaza in Sterling to 18 lanes, from 14. The total cost of these improvements was $71.2 million.

Later in 2005, the Australia-based Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) agreed to acquire TRIP II for $617.5 million. This included a payment of $84.5 million to Kellogg, Brown & Root for its 13.3% stake, and $533 million to the family-owned Shenandoah Group for the remaining 86.7% stake. Macquarie also raised funds through the float of $425 million worth of shares in the closed-end Macquarie Global Infrastructure Total Return Fund. In 2010, MIG restructured into two separately-listed companies: Intoll and Macquarie Atlas Roads. In 2018, Macquarie Atlas Roads changed its name to Atlas Arteria; the newly-named, still Australia-based company, which still owns and operates the Dulles Greenway, has been independent of its former parent since 2019.

In its 2010 county-wide transportation update, the Loudoun County government recommended that the Dulles Greenway be widened to eight lanes along its entire length. Earlier, officials at TRIP II said it would not rule out a future widening to eight lanes.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ON THE GREENWAY: In 2019, a new EXIT 2B off the westbound Dulles Greenway opened in Leesburg to serve the new Compass Creek mixed-use development. Construction of this exit has helped attract development of data centers operated by Microsoft and others, and is hoped to attract new users to the Greenway. By the end of the 2010s, AADT counts on the Dulles Greenway peaked at 57,000 vehicles per day.

On November 15, 2022, the Metrorail Silver Line opened along a 3.0-mile (4.8-kilometer)-long section of the Greenway from EXIT 6 (VA 772 / Ashburn Village Boulevard) in Ashburn south to EXIT 8 (VA 606 / Old Ox Road) in Sterling. Planning for the Metrorail extension began in earnest in 1999, and construction began in late 2016. Long-range plans adopted in 2013 call for a further extension of the Silver Line along the Dulles Greenway median to Leesburg, though there are no current construction plans, particularly given Metro's shift away from building new train lines and the high projected cost (about $5-7 billion, based on 2024 estimates).

Over the years, toll rates have increased, leading to public debate. From 2012 to 2021, the Virginia SCC and MIG/Atlas Arteria agreed to scheduled toll hikes, but from 2021, all toll hikes had to receive approval from SCC. The most recent attempt to raise tolls in 2024 to $8.10 peak and 6.40 off-peak - representing increases of 40% peak and 22% off-peak - failed as the SCC ruled it unnecessary and contrary to the public interest.

According to VDOT, AADT counts on the Dulles Greenway are about 50,000 vehicles per day. Although this is above the 45,000 AADT recorded at the 2020 pandemic low, traffic remains below the pre-COVID peak, owing in part to delayed return-to-office mandates.

This 2024 photo shows the terminus of the westbound Dulles Greenway at EXIT 1 (US 15 and VA 7) in Leesburg. This exit ramp was opened in 2019 to serve new development in the area, including a "big-box" retail center and data centers. (Photo by David Golub, www.eastcoastroads.com.)

A NEW INTERSTATE DESIGNATION FOR THE DULLES CORRIDOR: The Dulles Greenway, along with the Dulles Airport Access Road-Dulles Toll Road corridor, 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.

There are two potential obstacles for re-designating VA 267 as I-366:

  • One 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.

  • Another obstacle is the re-designation of a post-1956 toll road as an Interstate highway, though achieving this is not impossible. Perhaps the most recent example is in Pittsburgh's northern and western suburbs involving the conversion of PA 60 (which is a mostly tolled road built in the late 1980s and early 1990s) to I-376. The Interstate highway conversion came as a result of an Act of Congress (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, or "SAFE-TEA") in 2005; new I-376 signs were erected on the former PA 60 in 2009. The rationale for this change was that Pittsburgh International Airport was one of the few major airports at the time that was not served directly by the Interstate highway system. A similar argument can be made for a direct I-366 designation to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County.
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SOURCES: "Potomac Site Is Approved for Outer Beltway Bridge" by Jack Eisen, The Washington Post (4/20/1971); "Suburbs Push West: Loudoun" by Thomas Grubisich, The Washington Post (11/21/1978); "Cautious Praise for Road Plan" by Thomas Turcol, The Washington Post (7/30/1986); "Developers Want To Build, Run Loudoun Toll Road" by John F. Harris, The Washington Post (11/04/1986); "Dulles Road Extension Proposed in Bill" by Lee Hocksteader, The Washington Post (1/20/1988); "Private Toll Road a Major Victory for Northern Virginia" by Lee Hocksteader, The Washington Post (3/13/1988); "Dulles Road Extension Gets Green Light" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (11/20/1988); "Private Firm To Bid for Dulles Road" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (12/29/1988); "The Man with the Plan for the Dulles Toll Road" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (2/09/1989); "Dulles Toll Road Project Application Finished" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (3/30/1989); "Virginia Agency Shifts Stand, May Back Private Dulles Toll Road Link" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (7/08/1989); "Final Right of Way Obtained for Dulles Toll Road Extension" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (9/19/1990); "Toll Road Extension Stuck on Red" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (1/03/1991); "Airport Board Approves Extending Toll Road Through Dulles" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (3/14/1991); "Toll Due on Dulles Connector" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (5/20/1991); "Toll Road Extension Gets Foreign Boost" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (9/10/1991); "Money Shortage Jeopardizes Dulles Toll Road Extension" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (5/05/1992); "Family Pledge Revives Toll Road Extension" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (12/18/1992); "Private Virginia Toll Road Is Finally Coming Down the Pike" by Steve Bates, The Washington Post (9/29/1993); "Wetlands Being Built With Road" by Leef Smith, The Washington Post (11/04/1993); "Case Study: Virginia's Dulles Greenway" by William G. Reinhardt, Public Works Financing (January 1994); "Dulles Toll Road Booths To Become Automated" by Leef Smith, The Washington Post (7/21/1994); "Investors' Hope Ride on Privately Run Toll Road" by David Segal, The Washington Post (7/24/1995); "Highway Links Loudoun to Region's Growing Pains" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (7/24/1995); "No Greenbacks on the Greenway" by Stephen C. Fehr, The Washington Post (10/01/1995); "Greenway Toll Road Underused" by Peter Pae, The Washington Post (12/08/1995); Toll Road Plan, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (1995); "Missed Payments Put Dulles Greenway at Risk of Foreclosure" by Peter Pae, The Washington Post (8/03/1996); Build, Operate, Transfer: Paving the Way for Tomorrow's Infrastructure by Sidney M. Levy, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1996); "Dulles Greenway a Double-Edged Sword" by Justin Blum, The Washington Post (7/26/1999); "Ashburn James Spur Greenway Widening" by Christine B. Whelan, The Washington Post (7/16/2000); "Greenway Owners To Add Lanes, Exits" by Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post (3/04/2005); "New Leesburg Exit Off 267 Opens Wednesday," TheBurn.com (5/14/2019); "A Study of the Feasibility of Purchasing All or Part of the Dulles Greenway," Virginia Department of Transportation (2019); "Playing Politics With a Virginia Toll Road" by Baruch Feigenbaum, Reason Foundation (11/01/2023); "Leesburg Becomes Hub for Data Centers" by Audrey Carpenter, Blue Ridge Leader & Loudoun Today (11/29/2023); "Commuter Rail to Loudoun: The Next Chapter" by Ryan Jones, Greater Greater Washington (2/07/2025); "Metro's Future: No Rail Expansion, More Bus Lanes" by Jacob Kerr, WTOP-FM (4/24/2025); Scott Kozel; Atlas Arteria; Dewberry Engineers, Inc.; Federal Highway Administration; HistoricAerials.com; Loudoun County Department of Economic Development; Loudoun County Government; Toll Road Investors Partnership II, LP.

  • VA 267 shield by Scott Colbert.
  • I-366 shield by Steve Anderson.
  • Dulles Greenway shield by Toll Road Investors Partnership.
  • Lightpoles by Millerbernd Manufacturing Company.
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DULLES GREENWAY LINKS:

DULLES GREENWAY CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS:

DULLES GREENWAY VIDEO LINKS:

THE EXITS OF WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE:

  • VA 267 exit list by Steve Anderson.

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