I used to drive I-66 every day from Arlington to Fairfax for work. I haven’t been over there in a while, my health is horrible and I can’t afford to renew my tags right now, but the usual arrangement is that there are toll express lanes and free lanes that you sit in traffic in. Not sure if that’s the case here.
In Austin, TX, it’s the same. First, you can’t pay me enough to drive to Austin. Second, I’d rather take the free roads and sit in traffic adding an extra 5-10 minutes to my trip than pay $40 to go 11 miles.