Pennsylvania Turnpike officials are working on a project that will make it possible to travel the entire toll road and its extensions without stopping or slowing down to pay tolls.

Using EZ Pass, license plate readers, and sensors that record whether vehicles are cars or trucks,  Open Road Tolling will begin next year along the Turnpike’s Eastern and Northeast Extension.

Turnpike Commission Chief Engineer Bradley Heigel says when the entire system is upgraded in 2027, it will improve access, safety, and mobility across the state. 

Open Road Tolling is a cashless, free-flowing mode of collecting tolls without traditional toll plazas or toll booths.

Tolls are charged electronically as travelers drive at highway speeds without slowing down or stopping beneath overhead structures called gantries, located between interchanges.

 

  PA Turnpike Commission

Equipment on the gantry and in the roadway classifies and identifies the vehicle and electronically processes tolls. ORT allows free-flowing traffic, which reduces accidents and offers convenience to drivers.

Travelers along the central or eastern portion of the PA Turnpike may have noticed ORT construction already underway, including small structures built at the roadside to house equipment.

Drivers without credit cards or bank accounts will still be able to make cash toll payments using the KUBRA network, available at convenience stores, including Sheetz, Rutters, and 7-11, and retail locations such as Dollar General, Walgreens, and Family Dollar.

Toll plazas will be eliminated from the interchanges which may alleviate some common driver anxieties and increase line of sight at the interchange for motorists entering or exiting the system, remove the need for motorists to squeeze into seemingly narrow tollbooth lanes, and the jockey for lane position.

Commission officials say Open Road Tolling also allows the construction of new connections between existing interchanges at a fraction of the cost while providing more communities with direct PA Turnpike access, helping to drive economic growth.