Ohio Turnpike’s new tolling system goes live after years of work (2024)

COLUMBUS, Ohio—After eight years of work and nearly $250 million spent, the Ohio Turnpike’s new toll collection system is finally up and running.

For the first time, drivers with E-ZPass accounts can drive through toll plazas without needing to stop. The turnpike also moved to a more complicated system of calculating tolls along the 241-mile-long highway, with varying effects on motorists’ wallets depending on their route.

The changes come about a year and a half after initially planned, with delays in part stemming from months of testing parts of the new system.

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Since the new system was launched earlier this month, it’s been running smoothly, according to a turnpike official.

Here’s more on what the new changes are and how they affect turnpike drivers.

Open-road tolling

At each of the turnpike’s 24 toll plazas, the left-hand lanes are now for use only by E-ZPass customers, who can drive through at low speeds (10 miles per hour) and be charged directly via their account.

Drivers without an E-ZPass will still have to stop at tollbooths on the right-hand side to pay with cash or a credit card at new automated toll payment collection machines.

Non-E-ZPass drivers who cruise through E-ZPass lanes will have their license plate caught by sensors and be sent a bill in the mail. E-ZPass holders who use the left-hand lanes but don’t have a transponder on their vehicle that’s detected are now charged a new, higher toll rate than the usual E-ZPass toll rate.

New toll rates

Until now, turnpike drivers have been charged tolls based on where they got on and off the highway. The turnpike’s new tolling system is more complex than that.

Turnpike drivers coming into Ohio from Indiana or Pennsylvania now have to pay a flat rate toll upon entering the state, with the exact charge depending on the size of the vehicle and whether they have an E-ZPass transponder.

Westbound passenger vehicles headed out of Ohio into Indiana will also have to pay an additional toll of $2 for E-ZPass holders, and $3 for people paying with cash or credit card; eastbound traffic, however, won’t be charged any toll at the Pennsylvania border.

In addition to the border tolls, turnpike drivers will also still have to pay a mileage-based toll, but only if they drive somewhere between toll plazas near Swanton (mile marker 49) and Newton Falls (mile marker 211). That’s because the turnpike has closed nine toll plazas close to the Indiana and Pennsylvania borders – exits 13, 25, 34, and 39 in Northwest Ohio, and exits 215, 216, 218, 232, and 234 in the Youngstown area – citing low usage rates.

Long-combination vehicles longer than 90 feet – which usually means semis carrying two or three large trailers – will have to pay tolls based on mileage, rather than the current $12 flat rate.

The result will be that, depending on their route, some turnpike drivers will pay more under the new tolling system, while others will pay the same or even save some money.

The turnpike itself expects that the changes will save it $2.7 million in operating costs during its first year of operation, as well as increase revenue by about $2.4 million. That’s according to turnpike commission estimates from last fall.

READ MORE: Ohio Turnpike director explains new tolling system, no-bid contracts

Since the changes took effect April 10, things have been running “smoothly,” according to Chris Matta, chief engineer/deputy executive director for the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.

“A successful transition was possible because we phased in components of the new system, along with extensive testing, before going live with the new system,” Matta said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the system’s performance over the next several months.”

Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, said in a statement that the modernization project, which has been in the works since 2016, “has been a long, challenging, and complex project.”

But, Ahmed added, “The work performed by our staff, designers, consultants, and contractors will leave a lasting legacy. ...(And) the local, regional, and national economic benefits of our top-performing facility will be immense for our commuters, travelers as well as the commercial freight industry.”

Ahmed, speaking to cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer last summer, said the turnpike’s old tolling system, which dates back to 2009, was becoming obsolete.

“It’s no different from using a computer in your office – there comes a point in time when it becomes slow (and) perhaps not able to do all the things you need to do,” he said.

Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.