The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is planning to replace all toll booths along the turnpike with gantries, overhead structures with sensors that charge tolls to vehicles electronically, writes Milan Varia for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to turnpike spokesperson Marissa Orbanek, gantries are part of open road tolling initiatives starting in January 2025. They are already up in eastern Pennsylvania, with construction in Western Pennsylvania slated to start in 2027.

Pennsylvania Turnpike plans to start demolishing toll booths in 2026, with the expected completion date for the entire project being late 2028. Until demolition starts, motorists will not need to change their commute.

Once the project is finalized, the commission expects to save around $25 million a year in maintenance and construction costs.

The new system – known as open road tolling – will enable cashless collection of tolls. The gantry will either scan an E-ZPass transponder or capture a driver’s license plate. An invoice will then be sent through the mail.

“Open road tolling is the future of tolling for our nation and is being implemented throughout the nation,” said Orbanek. “We’ve been working on this for 15 years and are really excited to start this in January.”

Read more about Pennsylvania Turnpike’s plans in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

__________

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on MONTCO Today in June 2024.