Pocahontas toll to rise 25 cents next month

Tolls on the Pocahontas Parkway will go up by 25 cents on Jan. 5.

"We know economic conditions are tough," Pocahontas 895 director Andi Kuhn said. "We've implemented our scheduled toll increase in two phases to make it a little easier for our customers to adjust."

The toll price at the main plaza will go to $2.75 for two-axle vehicles. Larger vehicles will pay $1 more for each additional axle. The toll at the Laburnum Avenue exit will become $1 for vehicles not passing through the main toll plaza.

In January of this year, the toll at the main plaza went up 25 cents, half the amount allowed through the end of 2010 under an operating agreement between the state and Transurban, an Australian toll-road firm. The toll at the Laburnum Avenue exit was left unchanged at that time.

Transurban took over running the parkway in June 2006 under a 99-year lease with the state, though Virginia continues to own the road.

Transurban and the Virginia Department of Transportation agreed to allow tolls on the parkway, designated state Route 895, to rise gradually. The next time tolls can increase -- by 25 cents -- is Jan. 1, 2011.

Nearly 6.5 million cars and trucks use the road annually, according to Transurban.

The privately operated, 8.8-mile toll road connects Interstate 95 and the Chippenham Parkway in Chesterfield County to Interstate 295 in Henrico County.

As part of its contract with the state, Transurban agreed to pay off the parkway's existing debt; finance and build the Airport Connector Road, linking Pocahontas 895 with Richmond International Airport; operate and maintain the toll road; and share revenues with the state should the highway become more profitable than expected.

-- Peter Bacqué