Question about I-66 Tolls

[jsteele]

I have not had to use I-66 during the week since the implemented the tolls. But I probably need to soon. I will need to go Westbound in the afternoon. Do I understand correctly that inside the Beltway, all cars are subject to tolls after 3 p.m.? What happens if I get on I-66 at 2:50 p.m.? Will it be toll-free or will tolls start to kick in at 3?

[Anonymous]

Do you have an EZ Pass? The price is supposed to lock in when you enter the lanes, not rise while you are driving. However if you don't have an EZ Pass I am not sure how they'd keep track of your entry time after the tolling turns on.

[jsteele]

Yes, I have an EZPass. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It would depend on when you hit the next toll reader along the way. The bad part is that the tolls are usually higher right when it first starts since there is typically back up from all the cars trying to "beat the clock" before the tolling starts. If you wait until about 3:45, traffic is flowing better and the toll typically ranges between $9-11 around that time.

[Anonymous]

And that price is from the city to the beltway.

[Anonymous]

Here are the locations of the toll gantries: https://66expresslanes.org/using_the_lanes/default.asp and a link to the estimator for pricing.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:It would depend on when you hit the next toll reader along the way. The bad part is that the tolls are usually higher right when it first starts since there is typically back up from all the cars trying to "beat the clock" before the tolling starts. If you wait until about 3:45, traffic is flowing better and the toll typically ranges between $9-11 around that time.

Thanks. So if I get on the road at 2:45 but at 3:10 pass a toll reader I will get a toll, right?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would depend on when you hit the next toll reader along the way. The bad part is that the tolls are usually higher right when it first starts since there is typically back up from all the cars trying to "beat the clock" before the tolling starts. If you wait until about 3:45, traffic is flowing better and the toll typically ranges between $9-11 around that time.

Thanks. So if I get on the road at 2:45 but at 3:10 pass a toll reader I will get a toll, right?

As I understand it, yes. For example, the gantry near Exit 72 would be the full fare from DC to Beltway, but gantry near Exit 67/68 would be a lesser fare since its a shorter distance.

Also, if you continue westbound in the afternoon, the tolls outside the Beltway show only for that segment not a full trip to the end of the HOT lanes.

[Anonymous]

I do not think HOV-3 needs to pay the toll, but one needs a special EZpass widget with an HOV switch to take advantage of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not think HOV-3 needs to pay the toll, but one needs a special EZpass widget with an HOV switch to take advantage of that.

NP. Yes, my DH has the HOV-3 toll ezpass with the widget thing, and I don't. I didn't understand how there are different ezpasses when I ordered mine. I've been following here because I have never understood the 1-66 tolls and have just avoided it as much as possible, but that isn't going to be as possible for me now having recently moved.

[jsteele]

I made my trip down I-66 and I'm still confused. I got on 66 from the Roosevelt bridge at about 2:50. I had been hoping to get there earlier but hit lots of traffic. I was watching for the toll gantries and actually passed under one at exactly 3:00. I'm waiting to see what, if any, toll will show up on my EZ Pass statement. When I first got on 66 the overhead signs showing the amount of the toll had very low numbers less than $2.00. If that is all I end up paying it won't be a big deal. Tolls for the express lanes outside the Beltway were closer to $20, but I didn't take those lanes.

The one thing that I can say for sure is that I-66 sucks at that time of the day and I am glad that I don't have to use it more often. I assume that it is even worse later in the day.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I made my trip down I-66 and I'm still confused. I got on 66 from the Roosevelt bridge at about 2:50. I had been hoping to get there earlier but hit lots of traffic. I was watching for the toll gantries and actually passed under one at exactly 3:00. I'm waiting to see what, if any, toll will show up on my EZ Pass statement. When I first got on 66 the overhead signs showing the amount of the toll had very low numbers less than $2.00. If that is all I end up paying it won't be a big deal. Tolls for the express lanes outside the Beltway were closer to $20, but I didn't take those lanes.

The one thing that I can say for sure is that I-66 sucks at that time of the day and I am glad that I don't have to use it more often. I assume that it is even worse later in the day.

I-66 sucks at any time of the day .. fixed it for you

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I made my trip down I-66 and I'm still confused. I got on 66 from the Roosevelt bridge at about 2:50. I had been hoping to get there earlier but hit lots of traffic. I was watching for the toll gantries and actually passed under one at exactly 3:00. I'm waiting to see what, if any, toll will show up on my EZ Pass statement. When I first got on 66 the overhead signs showing the amount of the toll had very low numbers less than $2.00. If that is all I end up paying it won't be a big deal. Tolls for the express lanes outside the Beltway were closer to $20, but I didn't take those lanes.

The one thing that I can say for sure is that I-66 sucks at that time of the day and I am glad that I don't have to use it more often. I assume that it is even worse later in the day.

20 bucks was a bargain.

It can be almost 100 to go from Haymarket to the DC line.

The inside the beltway portion functions well and as intended. Tolls go up based on multiple variables in a sliding scale way, one metric is volume/back ups to discourage more traffic (max I’ve seen has been over 50). But this means you can pay 50 bucks to sit in a ton of traffic which really pisses people off.

Outside the beltway is an unmitigated disaster. You don’t know how much the whole drive will be, you can’t leave the lanes easily (except at one spot), the amounts change after you’ve committed to the lanes, and they can be 60-70 bucks, oftentimes unrelated to volume. Though if prices are related to volume they appear to be higher when regular 66 is backed up. But the real kicker is that vdot will schedule construction during rush hour and let people sit in hellish traffic OR pay (a LOT, when a lane is closed) for the privilege of avoiding the manufactured mess.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I made my trip down I-66 and I'm still confused. I got on 66 from the Roosevelt bridge at about 2:50. I had been hoping to get there earlier but hit lots of traffic. I was watching for the toll gantries and actually passed under one at exactly 3:00. I'm waiting to see what, if any, toll will show up on my EZ Pass statement. When I first got on 66 the overhead signs showing the amount of the toll had very low numbers less than $2.00. If that is all I end up paying it won't be a big deal. Tolls for the express lanes outside the Beltway were closer to $20, but I didn't take those lanes.

The one thing that I can say for sure is that I-66 sucks at that time of the day and I am glad that I don't have to use it more often. I assume that it is even worse later in the day.

This is the thing I always forget. The "toll beaters" clog up 66 from 2-3 so it's so much slower than it should be. the other options are up the GW parkway, to spout run and use lee highway or use rt 50 to the south and then cut up on down depending.

[jsteele]

So the upshot of this for anyone who is interested is that I ended up paying $1.50 toll for the distance from Glebe Road to the end of the restricted section of 66 (outside the Beltway). Just to reiterate, I actually got on 66 at 2:50 at the Roosevelt Bridge. I happened to pass under a toll gantry that was probably at Glebe Road exactly at 3:00. The charge was at 3:08 which is when I crossed the Beltway. So it looks like you are charged for the portion of your journey that takes place after 3.