WV Turnpike and E-ZPass

[GCrites]

First world problems.

FWIW, those toll booths are not that old. They were installed when the Turnpike was rebuilt circa 1979-1986.

Agree.

And correct.  IIRC the origninal toll booths were similar to the ones you see when Sonny gets it in the Godfather.  The mainlines were at the ends of the road, today's Belle and Princeton exits, and there were few exits.  These were removed in the 4 lane upgrade. 

There was a, IIRC, quite long (2 years or so) time where they had removed those and used today's nothernmost and southernmost barriers for the old card system (the 2 lane turnpike was on the "closed" card based system) with someone actually paid to sit at the middle booth where motorists had to stop and be told "there is no toll at this booth".  What a job.

Did they have to have the cards due to the side/exit tolls of the time? I baaarely remember seeing exit toll booths. It was around the time they were getting close to finishing dualization. I also remember my folks being low on gas and pulling off at the new Pax exit which of course had no gas.

[wanderer2575]

I have an Ohio Turnpike EZ-Pass and receive no discount in Ohio or elsewhere.

Try paying cash instead of using your E-ZPass and you will see that you indeed are receiving a discount by using the transponder.  (Or, more specifically, since I'm pretty sure tolls were never lowered when Ohio finally went online with E-ZPass, you don't pay the cash surcharge when using E-ZPass.)  You also receive discounts on the PA Turnpike, IN Toll Road, and some other facilities.  But some facilities, such as the WV and NJ turnpikes, offer discounts only for transponders issued in those states.

[SP Cook]

Did they have to have the cards due to the side/exit tolls of the time? I baaarely remember seeing exit toll booths. It was around the time they were getting close to finishing dualization. I also remember my folks being low on gas and pulling off at the new Pax exit which of course had no gas.

The opposite actually.  The card or "closed system" dates to the original 1950s era 2-lane road.  There was just the two ends of the road (Charleston actually had two, confusingly called "Charleston North" and "Charleston South" although on the opposite end of town from the Charleston neighborhood of North Charleston or the suburb of South Charleston) and a major interchange at Beckley (today's Harper Road exit)  and a few exits between Beckley and Charleston, including one which, for reasons that make no sense, only allowed entry towards Charleston or exit from it, (this was a 2 lane road) .

When the 4 lane was completed and they instituted the "open system" the side tolls charged a random amount to either exit or enter, which constituted an extra toll if you were just getting off to buy gas, BTW.  Locals mostly paid the "side tolls" while tourists mostly paid the mainline tolls, so part of the deal when the tolls were illegally extended in the early 90s was elimination of the "side tolls".  Typically, the Turnpike mismanagement through a fit and the Corridor L side toll was reinstituted after a week.

[hbelkins]

including one which, for reasons that make no sense, only allowed entry towards Charleston or exit from it, (this was a 2 lane road) .

That was the Mossy exit, and wasn't it built to allow some bigwig or politician who lived in the area to have access to the turnpike to get to and from the state capital/capitol?

[GCrites]

When the 4 lane was completed and they instituted the "open system" the side tolls charged a random amount to either exit or enter, which constituted an extra toll if you were just getting off to buy gas, BTW.  Locals mostly paid the "side tolls" while tourists mostly paid the mainline tolls, so part of the deal when the tolls were illegally extended in the early 90s was elimination of the "side tolls".  Typically, the Turnpike mismanagement through a fit and the Corridor L side toll was reinstituted after a week.

Yes, I remember one side toll sticking around longer than the others... and it was Corridor L. When was that finally over with? Mid '90s?

[SP Cook]

Yes, I remember one side toll sticking around longer than the others... and it was Corridor L. When was that finally over with? Mid '90s?

Still there, raised from 25 cents to 40 cents when the mainline tolls went to $2 from $1.25.

That was the Mossy exit, and wasn't it built to allow some bigwig or politician who lived in the area to have access to the turnpike to get to and from the state capital/capitol?

That was Governor Patteson, who was probably the worst governor in state history, exempting Rockefailure.  The governor's mansion was gutted and rebuilt during his term, so he drove from Oak Hill every day.

[Brandon]

And even with the 5mph speed limit, not being stuck behind cash payers or having to fumble for cash.

Who the hell slows down that far anyway?  Our ramp plazas are 15 mph for the dedicated I-Pass lanes, and no one goes 15 mph in them.  30-35 is more typical, and I've seen full-speed 60-65 mph done.

[vdeane]

NYSTA has been known to terminate the accounts of people who travel through the lanes too fast, so most people here drive 10-15 for the 20 mph lanes and 5-10 mph for the 5 mph lanes.  Even then, there are some people who insist on slowing down to 5 mph for the 20 mph lanes, either because they can't read signs, or because they want to read the screen confirming that the tag was read (which DOES get hard to read at 15-20 mph).

[hbelkins]

And even with the 5mph speed limit, not being stuck behind cash payers or having to fumble for cash.

Who the hell slows down that far anyway?  Our ramp plazas are 15 mph for the dedicated I-Pass lanes, and no one goes 15 mph in them.  30-35 is more typical, and I've seen full-speed 60-65 mph done.

For the WV Turnpike plazas, I certainly do. It's not uncommon to see a WV state trooper running radar near the toll plazas.