Those familiar toll booths on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are going away and that means drivers will be able to pay tolls without slowing down or hitting backed up traffic at toll plazas, writes Evan Jones for The Morning Call.

The plazas are being replaced starting Jan. 5 in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with an open road tolling system that will use overhead gantries instead.  

Tolls will be charged electronically as motorists drive beneath the gantries between interchanges.

“This move reiterates our commitment to the safety of our customers and employees, while modernizing our operations and meeting customer expectations for seamless, nonstop travel,” said Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. .

The first signs of the new system will show up at mile-marker 290 in Lancaster County and points east of there.

In total, the system will utilize 36 gantries.

Tolls will switch to a 7 cents per mile and a $1.09 per segment rate for a 2-axle car with E-ZPass. A 12-mile trip from the Lehigh Valley interchange to Quakertown will run about $1.93, up from the current rate of $1.90.

Overall, though, half of the turnpike drivers should pay less under the new system.

Read more about how this new open road tolling system works in The Morning Call.

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