Open Roads Ahead: PA Turnpike Open Road Tolling Conversion Enhances Commercial Driver Safety, Convenience

For the last 85 years, the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s been counted on to connect Pennsylvania communities and the East Coast freight corridors powering economic growth.

That legacy -- now 565-plus miles of paved, predictable roadway linking Ohio, New Jersey and parts in between – doesn’t happen without innovation. In January, the Pennsylvania Turnpike will again solidify itself as a national leader in transportation when the Keystone State transitions to Open Road Tolling (ORT), the final phase of our All-Electronic Tolling implementation.  

With an ORT system, customers drive at highway speeds without slowing down or stopping beneath overhead structures — called gantries — located between interchanges. Equipment on the gantry and on the roadway classifies and identifies the vehicle and electronically processes tolls.

For our commercial trucking customers, ORT’s benefits include safer, unobstructed travel, standardized toll rates and enhanced reliability that saves time, getting drivers to their destinations sooner.? 

Safer, smoother travel 

Open Road Tolling is the culmination of the PA Turnpike’s decade-long journey to modernize operations and meet customer expectations. 

On Jan. 5, 2025, ORT goes live east of Reading and on the entire Northeast Extension. By early 2027, it will expand to the PA Turnpike’s western region. 

Over the past two decades, ORT and AET emerged as the preferred methods. More than 235 toll facilities (roads, bridges, and tunnels) across 27 states manage toll collection this way, according to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Tolling Association. New toll roads and bridges only collect tolls electronically.

ORT lifts tolling equipment above the roadway, improving sightlines. When tollbooth removal begins in late 2025, commercial customers could see reductions in congestion, stop-and-go traffic and last-minute lane-switching by less experienced drivers. 

Several mainline locations implemented ORT as part of a pilot program, resulting in significant crash rate reductions, including: 

* A 76% reduction at Gateway in Lawrence County 

* A 71% reduction at Warrendale in Butler County?  

* A 33% reduction at the Delaware River Bridge in Bucks County

Seamless, nonstop travel also has environmental benefits including lower emissions, less fuel use and a cleaner environment.

With ORT, the PA Turnpike can design and construct new connections at a fraction of the cost of traditional brick-and-mortar interchanges. These links ease traffic on local roads while increasing safety, mobility and economic opportunity in adjacent communities. We are already developing new ORT interchanges in Montgomery, Lackawanna and Westmoreland counties. 

Predictable rates, consistent classification 

For commercial customers, ORT comes with two significant changes: shedding weight-based vehicle classification and standardizing toll rates.

Adopting the Automated Vehicle Classification (AVC) system, which uses vehicle axle and height, aligns the PA Turnpike to the nationwide standard, immediately improving toll predictability, particularly for interstate drivers. 

Standardized toll rates provide greater transparency, making it easier for large and small companies to anticipate and budget toll expenses.  The PA Turnpike’s online Toll Calculator provides precise toll charges, factoring in vehicle class and distance traveled. 

The base rate for a two-axle passenger car with E-ZPass is $0.07 per mile, plus a flat $1.09 fee per segment (distance between interchanges). The 2025 toll structure includes a 5% revenue increase, consistent with our Act 44 financial plan to repay debt incurred during a 15-year mandate to provide the state with supplemental transportation funding. 

Toll By Plate customers pay double the base rate, with additional vehicle classes charged a multiple of either the E-ZPass or Toll By Plate base rates.

Here are two real-world scenarios, based on the most commonly occurring commercial (Weight Class 6/Height Class 5H) trips at E-ZPass rates: 

•Mid-County to Lehigh Valley – an overall toll increase of approximately $5.  

•Carlisle to New Stanton – an overall toll decrease of approximately $1.50.  

Overall, approximately 70% of commercial customers will see an increase of $5 or less. The greatest impact will be felt by trucks riding the system empty, with tolls charged at the rate of similarly sized, full vehicles. Even with those changes, PA Turnpike commercial rates rank 33% below the national average.

The PA Turnpike was the first of its kind and received nationwide acclaim as an engineering marvel when it opened in 1940. We set the national standard for superhighway design and engineering. ORT continues that legacy and our ongoing commitment to meeting commercial customers’ expectations for seamless, non-stop travel.  

To learn more about ORT, visit PATurnpike.com/ORT.