Get ready, drivers — you’ll have to start paying to use the express lanes on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Starting Saturday, the Florida Department of Transportation announced, drivers must pay a toll to use the express lanes. This comes months after the express lanes opened in May. The department only allows passenger vehicles, registered vanpools and buses in the Interstate 275 express lanes.
The express lane tolls will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting Saturday. The toll is 50 cents, like nearby I-275 express lanes in Pinellas, department spokesperson Kris Carson confirmed in a text message. The toll will stay 50 cents during rush hour and other high-traffic times, Carson said.
Express lane charges will be collected electronically, Monday’s news release said, through the SunPass Prepaid Toll Program. Drivers can buy a Sunpass at CVS, Walgreens, Publix and other stores.
Drivers can also use E-ZPass, E-Pass and other compatible toll transponders for the express lanes.
The express lanes reach from Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg to just north of the bridge in Tampa. There are merge areas just north of the bridge on the Tampa side, as well as just north of Fourth Street North.
There are four express lanes — two for travelers heading north, and two for those heading south. They haven’t charged tolls since opening earlier this summer.
These lanes are one of many new changes to the Howard Frankland Bridge in the last year. The state transportation department is also widening lanes, continuing the northbound express lanes and making longer merge areas at the Tampa West Shore interchange, or exit 39.
A shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists also opened in May. It’s a 12-foot shared path featuring shaded spots and a barrier between the path and I-275 traffic.
And come October, travelers can use the express lanes on a new bus route.
The route, named the 727 Airport Express, is set to connect downtown St. Petersburg with the Tampa International Airport. It’ll charge a $2.25 fare and is the first express bus route to use the lanes and connect to the airport, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority announced in July.
Monday’s news release also notes that drivers should follow a new 65 mph speed limit on the bridge. The department asks drivers to slow down to 55 mph on either side of the bridge to account for active construction.