Axios Richmond
August 07, 2025
1 big thing: 🛣️ Say goodbye to toll cash
The Richmond metro's three major toll roads are going cashless, starting with Powhite Parkway later this year.
Why it matters: Once the switch to All-Electronic Tolling is complete, drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will have to pay more to use Powhite, the Boulevard Bridge and the Downtown Expressway.
State of play: The Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority is transitioning because All-Electronic Tolling makes for a better highway driving experience, according to RMTA's website.
- Phase one is scheduled to begin this winter at the 20-lane Powhite Parkway Toll Plaza and on Boulevard Bridge. Downtown Expressway will follow in winter 2027.
Zoom in: Under the system, cash and coins won't be accepted. Drivers who don't have an E-ZPass will be charged via pay-by-plate, which will cost more, Tia Freeman with RMTA tells Axios. RMTA's higher rate hasn't been set yet.
- That extra charge can be pricey, per Axios' review of Virginia toll roads that use it.
- It's $1.60 more than the E-ZPass rate on the Dulles Toll Road, plus an extra $12.50 service fee if paid more than six days late.
Yes, but: E-ZPass isn't free. While the transponder costs nothing, users typically must have a bank or credit card tied to the account with a minimum of $10 available.
- E-ZPass offers a manual Reload Card, but adding to it costs an extra $1.50 per transaction, which (ironically) is more than it would cost to pay the toll to get back and forth across the Downtown Expressway or Nickel Bridge.
By the numbers: Around 15% of drivers used cash or coin to pay RMTA tolls in fiscal year 2023, per the latest RMTA data.
- Downtown Expressway users had the smallest cash/coin use (9.5%).
- Powhite's cash use was 15.5%.
- Drivers on the Boulevard Bridge had by far the highest coin use rate at 26.6% — which anyone who uses the Nickel Bridge, as locals call it, can attest.
Zoom out: Cashless tolls offer myriad benefits for drivers, per VDOT, and toll road operators who no longer have to pay to man the booths.
- RMTA has 32 toll collection attendants budgeted for the next fiscal year, down significantly from the 53 it had budgeted in 2021.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect RMTA's new timeline to implement All-Electronic Tolling in the Richmond region.
2. 🦊 The wait is over for Fox Elementary
Richmond's Fox Elementary is officially reopening three years after a fire severely damaged the century-old building in The Fan and shut it down.
Why it matters: Fox hasn't been open a full school year for in-person learning since before the pandemic.
Zoom in: "It's exciting to return to a building that was deeply loved by the community," Katie Ricard, 2nd District School Board member, told Axios before Fox's Open House yesterday.
- "I have a second grader who's never stepped foot in this building and now she will."
Catch up quick: A catastrophic fire ripped through the school in February 2022, but officials never found what caused it.
- Students zoned for Fox have been learning at the former Clark Springs Elementary building, which School Board members are now deciding how to repurpose.
What's next: Students return to Fox on Aug. 18. Here's a sneak peek of what parts of it now look like.
3. 🌊 The Current: Hotline for families affected by ICE
4. Stat du jour: 🥴 Cost of giving birth
The average total in-network cost of giving birth in Virginia is about $15,300 to push a baby out and nearly $20,000 for C-sections, per data from FAIR Health, a national independent nonprofit.
By the numbers: That's more expensive than the U.S. averages for both.
What we're watching: Virginia's Democratic lawmakers in Congress are pushing bipartisan legislation to make childbirth free for people with private health insurance so there's no out-of-pocket costs to parents.
5. 🍉 "Dirty Dancing" at Watermelon fest
It's a big summer fest weekend in RVA, so let's dive in.
🍉 The Carytown Watermelon Festival is Sunday, bringing locals a full day of watermelon bowls ($2), live music, food vendors, sidewalk sales and watermelon-themed specials at participating restaurants. 10am-6pm. Free.
💃 Don't skip the booth from Mountain Lake Lodge, better known as Kellerman's Mountain House in the film "Dirty Dancing" — the Virginia lodge where the iconic flick was filmed.
- The folks from the Mountain Lake will be in Richmond to promote (and give away two tickets to) their "Dirty Dancing Days Summer Festival" next weekend.
More things to do this weekend:
🎷 The Richmond Jazz & Music Festival is back at Maymont, and this year's lineup includes headliners T.I., CeeLo Green and Dru Hill. Saturday and Sunday, 1-10pm. One-day tickets start at $145.
🎸 Music legend Neil Young performs at Allianz Amphitheater on Sunday. 7:30pm. Tickets start at $73.35.
Full list including horse racing
Axios Richmond
