Mar 27, 2018 2 min read

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is installing equipment for a cashless tolling pilot project on the Findlay Connector section of the Southern Beltway in Washington and Allegheny counties. A state-of-the art cashless tolling system will be implemented there April 29.

“Cashless” means there will be no coin baskets or toll collectors along the roadway; cash will no longer be accepted. Motorists with E-ZPass will not notice a difference. For motorists who do not have E-ZPass, an image of their license plate is captured as they travel through a cashless facility. Using the address on file with the state Department of Transportation, a toll bill is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.

“Agencies across the country are introducing cashless systems, and we owe it to customers to continue to use the best technology available in every facet of our operations,” said Mark Compton, chief executive officer of the Turnpike Commission.

The benefits of cashless-tolling facilities include: enhanced toll-plaza safety because there is no swerving to find the correct lane; reduced congestion and travel times; reduced emissions, noise and light; reduced cost and disruption to build new interchanges and reduced long-term capital and operating costs.

With the conversion of the Findlay Connector and two other tolling points, the Turnpike will have four cashless tolling locations.

Customers who use the Findlay Connector will no longer pay at ramp toll plazas, which will be removed. Beginning April 29, they will pay electronically at a new location on the Findlay Connector mainline – an “open-road” toll point at milepost 2.5, where equipment is suspended from an overhead gantry. Findlay Connector trips, which are now tolled between Exits 1-2 and Exits 4-6, will become free after conversion.