PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tollbooths on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are going to disappear in coming years as the highway moves to an open road tolling system using overhead gantries situated along the mainline of the interstate.
Starting in 2026, the turnpike will begin tearing down the tollbooths at its on-and off-ramps.
"You'll start to see the demolition of toll plazas in 2026 in the east, and then by the end of 2028 for the west," said Turnpike Commission Press Secretary Marissa Orbanek. "You will not see toll plazas on the Pennsylvania Turnpike by 2030.”
The commission has already begun erecting overhead structures with sensors that read E-ZPass transponders, or scan license plates and bill drivers by mail.
"Eighty-six percent of our customers are E-ZPass customers, so we know that they prefer that cashless form of payment," Orbanek said.
Orbanek says starting in January they will collect tolls through the gantries. At first, the gantry system will operate east of the Reading Interchange.
"Come January, you're going to be tolled based on the segments you passed under," Orbanek said. "So it doesn't matter where you got on or got off, it's going to matter how many of the gantries you passed."
The open road tolling system should be operating along the entire turnpike by 2027, she said.
No jobs are being eliminated in this transition. Tolltakers were laid off when the turnpike went cashless four years ago. Orbanek says without tollbooths, the turnpike expects to save $25 million a year in maintenance costs.
Orbanek says eliminating tollbooths should make travel safer and faster.
"You're going to reduce the rear end collisions that occur at toll plazas, you're going to reduce the emissions that come out when cars are stopping and going at the toll plazas," she said.