Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Dulles Toll Road Case, Fairfax News, October 2, 2012

Is the Dulles Toll Road toll a toll? Or a tax? And who has jurisdiction to make the decision?

Those are among the questions being pondered by a three-judge panel of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in D.C., which today heard arguments from the group called “No Toll Increase.” The group has challenged the legality of using a portion of the tolls collected on the busy commuter highway to fund construction and operation of the Metro Silver Line.

The group’s attorney, Bob Sincar, argued before the panel that, under Virginia law, proceeds from tolls can only be used to fund construction and maintenance of the roads and bridges on which the toll is collected. He also argued that since the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which owns the toll road and is building the Silver Line, is not an elected body it does not have the authority to impose a tax. . . .

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The case is being heard in federal appeals court after having been dismissed by the federal district court.