The Pennsylvania Turnpike will say goodbye to its tollbooths next month, as it shifts to an open road tolling system, writes Mike DeNardo for KYW Newsradio.
Starting on January 5, all tollbooths east of Reading and on the Northeast Extension on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be deactivated.
The new system will charge tolls using sensors mounted on overhead gantries along the main line of the highway.
“Instead of being charged or tolled at a traditional tollbooth, customers now will be tolled at gantries throughout the roadway,” said Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission press secretary Marissa Orbanek.
Drivers will pay their tolls via E-ZPass, while those without one will be billed by mail. Charges will be based on the segments of the highway driven, rather than the point where a driver enters or exits.
The tollbooths will be dismantled later next year.
“Once we launch open road tolling on January 5, we’re going to start to do the demolition of the tollbooths,” said Orbanek. “So you’ll start to see [construction] later in 2025.”
Open road tolling is expected to be implemented along the entire length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike by 2027.
Read more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s new tolling system at KYW Newsradio.
