{"id":322753,"date":"2026-11-06T23:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T23:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/322753\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T23:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T23:48:12","slug":"pennsylvania-turnpike-open-road-tolling-starts-in-early-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/322753\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Turnpike Open Road Tolling starts in early 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ed<\/a>HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. \u2014<\/p>\n

For years, before you got onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you would have to go through a toll booth.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 3, 2027, that will change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will literally flip the switch here on the gantry system, which will have us now collecting our tolls through the gantries,\u201d Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton said Friday. \u201cTransitioning to the gantry-type system on the roadway as opposed to the interchanges really enables us to be, in many ways, a better neighbor that we’ve been desiring to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks so simple, but it is a relief to have it done,\u201d construction engineering manager Shane Szalankiewicz said.<\/p>\n

The new system should be simpler for thousands of drivers. Instead of being charged at a toll booth, many cameras will tag your vehicle as it passes under the gantry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that really changes is the way your invoice looks,\u201d Compton said. \u201cEach segment will hit your invoice, but the customer experience itself won’t change.”<\/p>\n

Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel<\/a><\/p>\n

No toll fees will change because of the system switch. While there are not many changes for drivers, they do have to make sure certain items are in place for a smooth transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask you to please mount the [E-ZPass] tag,\u201d Compton said. \u201cAlso, please make sure your license plate is hooked up to your account.\u201d<\/p>\n

For drivers who don’t have E-ZPass, the cameras still read license plates and a bill will be mailed.<\/p>\n

While Open Road Tolling is new to the western side of Pennsylvania, it\u2019s a concept that has shown results.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years ago, we did it in the east and in the northeast extension,\u201d Compton said. \u201cIt’s working really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the switchover happens statewide, the toll booths will be taken down, clearing up the interchanges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve had less crashes in those interchanges because that toll apparatus is no longer in the way,\u201d Compton said. \u201cSo those toll booths are no longer there, which is a much safer experience and a much more pleasant experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the gantries have been tested for close to a year. They come with a small building nearby with backup generators and information servers so that if things go wrong, they\u2019re still effective. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur folks in tolling are very familiar with those systems to be able to know when there’s a problem,\u201d Szalankiewicz said. \u201cWith the cameras and sensors in the road. It gets that tolling information together to send back to our system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turnpike officials hope this makes things easier for more than 500,000 drivers who take the superhighway every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s great to be part of an 86-year-old organization that’s still in growth mode,\u201d Compton said. \u201cThis is another opportunity for the commission to continue to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get breaking news in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. \u2014 For years, before you got onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you would have to go…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[37207,92050,92049,28,30,29,4696,92051,130846,130847],"class_list":["post-322753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-e-zpass","tag-open-road-tolling","tag-ort","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-pennsylvania-turnpike","tag-toll-booths","tag-toll-by-plate","tag-toll-gantry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}