Drivers are paying more to go “a mile a minute” in Loudoun County after a Sunday toll increase on the Dulles Greenway.

The 30-cent increase on the faster alternative to Route 7 means drivers now pay $3 to travel the 14 miles between Leesburg and Dulles International

Airport without the stops and starts of the heavily trafficked public roads.

The private corporation that owns the Dulles Greenway is seeking state approval to raise its tolls by more than 50 percent over the next five years to $4.80 per car during rush hour in 2012.

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“We need to generate enough toll revenue to cover increased cost for operations, along with providing a reasonable rate of return to private investors,” Dulles Greenway spokeswoman Ann Huggins-Lawler said.

Since opening at $1.75 per car 12 years ago, the road has yet to turn a profit, even as an average of 57,445 cars paid to travel the road each day in 2006, Huggins-Lawler said.

The State Corporation Commission is expected to rule on further toll increases later this year. U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., questioned the future increases, suggesting that higher fares can be approved without sufficient justification.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com