PA Turnpike News

[Bitmapped]

So once that's done, all that's left will be PA 66, the Mon-Fayette Expressway, the Southern Beltway (coming soon,) and Gateway. Then it's onto the ticket system.

The Southern Beltway is going AET on April 29 as well. Here, they are going to remove the ramp toll plazas. An overhead gantry has been installed along the mainline south of US 30.

[thenetwork]

So once that's done, all that's left will be PA 66, the Mon-Fayette Expressway, the Southern Beltway (coming soon,) and Gateway. Then it's onto the ticket system.

The Southern Beltway is going AET on April 29 as well. Here, they are going to remove the ramp toll plazas. An overhead gantry has been installed along the mainline south of US 30.

If/When the mainline does go to AET, what will the PTC do for the odd "mostly-free" section that runs between I-79 and the Ohio Turnpike?  Unless you are entering the Penna Pike eastbound from the Ohio Turnpike, you can currently go anywhere on the westernmost section no charge. 

I would assume the free-rides would go bye-bye when AET happens?

[MASTERNC]

Speaking of E-ZPass, I noticed Waze no longer took me on E-ZPass Only slip ramps on the PA Turnpike.  The reason is you now have to specify which toll passes you have, which then directs you to such ramps.  I guess there were complaints about being directed to these exits without E-ZPass.

https://www.paturnpike.com/yourTurnpike/TRA_waze_app_ezpass_customers.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=apr_email&utm_content=waze

[Bitmapped]

So once that's done, all that's left will be PA 66, the Mon-Fayette Expressway, the Southern Beltway (coming soon,) and Gateway. Then it's onto the ticket system.

The Southern Beltway is going AET on April 29 as well. Here, they are going to remove the ramp toll plazas. An overhead gantry has been installed along the mainline south of US 30.

If/When the mainline does go to AET, what will the PTC do for the odd "mostly-free" section that runs between I-79 and the Ohio Turnpike?  Unless you are entering the Penna Pike eastbound from the Ohio Turnpike, you can currently go anywhere on the westernmost section no charge. 

I would assume the free-rides would go bye-bye when AET happens?

The Southern Beltway conversion actually creates two free zones.

On the mainline, I would hope they at least start tolling in both directions at the state line. Eastbound now for cash is over $7. That's getting pretty steep. My own preference would be an overhead gantry between each interchange and charge tolls. I think that's really the fairest way to do it. If I only use the Turnpike between the state line and I-376, it's not fair that I'm assessed the same toll as if I drove nearly three times as long to Cranberry.

[Mr_Northside]

If/When the mainline does go to AET, what will the PTC do for the odd "mostly-free" section that runs between I-79 and the Ohio Turnpike?  Unless you are entering the Penna Pike eastbound from the Ohio Turnpike, you can currently go anywhere on the westernmost section no charge. 

I would assume the free-rides would go bye-bye when AET happens?

I've wondered this myself.  Since the most recent plans they've had (that I've read about) seem to be favoring involve gantries between exits, I'd like to think they would for fairness sake.

Though, to break it down further.... and I'm just guessing here... that even if they do, they'll just put ones between Ohio & I-376, and between Beaver Valley and Cranberry, and not bother with the ~3 miles between Beaver Valley & 376.

[jcn]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

[MASTERNC]

So once that's done, all that's left will be PA 66, the Mon-Fayette Expressway, the Southern Beltway (coming soon,) and Gateway. Then it's onto the ticket system.

The Southern Beltway is going AET on April 29 as well. Here, they are going to remove the ramp toll plazas. An overhead gantry has been installed along the mainline south of US 30.

Southern Beltway conversion has been delayed for additional testing
https://www.paturnpike.com/press/2018/20180424155613.htm

[roadman65]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

FTE is doing that here in Florida too.  Do not know why as high mast light up a much larger area and use less candle power.  I guess with the new LED lights it does not matter, however even when the orange sodium lights were king, some agencies in the Sunshine State also chose the lower traditional lights over the tall ones as well.

[signalman]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

FTE is doing that here in Florida too.  Do not know why as high mast light up a much larger area and use less candle power.  I guess with the new LED lights it does not matter, however even when the orange sodium lights were king, some agencies in the Sunshine State also chose the lower traditional lights over the tall ones as well.

I would assume the lowering of the lights' height is to keep the light on the roadway it was intended to illuminate.  High mast lights probably cast a decent amount of light on adjacent neighborhoods, much to residents' chagrin.

[Beltway]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

FTE is doing that here in Florida too.  Do not know why as high mast light up a much larger area and use less candle power.  I guess with the new LED lights it does not matter, however even when the orange sodium lights were king, some agencies in the Sunshine State also chose the lower traditional lights over the tall ones as well.

I would assume the lowering of the lights' height is to keep the light on the roadway it was intended to illuminate.  High mast lights probably cast a decent amount of light on adjacent neighborhoods, much to residents' chagrin.

Has anyone seen an official statement from a DOT as to why they are replacing high mast lighting with standard luminaires?

[cpzilliacus]

Philly.com: After the scandal: Pa. Turnpike settles with whistleblower it fired, contractor he warned about

Ten years after the failure of an SAP enterprise software installation at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission that exposed a pay-to-play bribery scandal, Ciber Inc. has agreed to pay the commission just $2 million of the $45 million that the agency demanded in a 2012 lawsuit.

The complaint accused Ciber of overcharging the commission by tens of millions of dollars above the actual cost of the installation. Ciber also failed to get the system working to run the turnpike's finance, accounting, service, maintenance, purchasing, and other systems. The failure forced the turnpike to hire SAP employees and use its own staff to do work it had already paid Ciber for, the turnpike commission said in its complaint.

That is just part of the fallout from the turnpike's notorious software case. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in March ordered the agency to pay $4.2 million in damages, costs, and interest to whistleblower Ralph Bailets, the turnpike's former manager of financial systems and reporting, for unfairly firing him.

[jemacedo9]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

FTE is doing that here in Florida too.  Do not know why as high mast light up a much larger area and use less candle power.  I guess with the new LED lights it does not matter, however even when the orange sodium lights were king, some agencies in the Sunshine State also chose the lower traditional lights over the tall ones as well.

I would assume the lowering of the lights' height is to keep the light on the roadway it was intended to illuminate.  High mast lights probably cast a decent amount of light on adjacent neighborhoods, much to residents' chagrin.

Has anyone seen an official statement from a DOT as to why they are replacing high mast lighting with standard luminaires?

I thought I read a few years ago that many the masts were reaching the end of their useful lives, and there was a risk of them falling, AND it was cheaper to replace with standard lights vs new high-mast lights. There were several in the Philadelphia area where the lights were lowered for quite a while before removed.

[cpzilliacus]

I thought I read a few years ago that many the masts were reaching the end of their useful lives, and there was a risk of them falling, AND it was cheaper to replace with standard lights vs new high-mast lights. There were several in the Philadelphia area where the lights were lowered for quite a while before removed.

At some I-95 interchanges in Maryland (especially the "between the Beltways" section), high-mast lighting is being replaced with lighting on conventional poles (using LED luminaires). 

But not at MD-200, which is mostly illuminated by HPS on high-mast poles.

[Bitmapped]

I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed how just like many of the interchanges on I 95 in Maryland, the Reading interchange had its high mast lights replaced by low level lighting within this past decade?

FTE is doing that here in Florida too.  Do not know why as high mast light up a much larger area and use less candle power.  I guess with the new LED lights it does not matter, however even when the orange sodium lights were king, some agencies in the Sunshine State also chose the lower traditional lights over the tall ones as well.

PennDOT has always seemed to prefer low level lighting. Perhaps PTC is copying them? There are a lot of interchanges with continuous low level lighting throughout the whole interchange when most other agencies would have gone with high mast.

WVDOH is going whole hog on installing high mast lighting as of late. New interchange installations are generally high mast and I-70 recently received several miles of continuous high mast lighting east of Wheeling. The lighting system along I-64 in Charleston is presently being converted from low level fixtures to high mast.

[theroadwayone]

Question: Once the ticketed parts of the turnpike go AET, will the EZ-Pass-only exits stay that way, or will they be accessible to anyone?

[storm2k]

Question: Once the ticketed parts of the turnpike go AET, will the EZ-Pass-only exits stay that way, or will they be accessible to anyone?

I imagine that they'll have to have their equipment upgraded first. Not the EZ-Pass parts, obviously, but probably the cameras and stuff for toll-by-plate.

[vdeane]

Wouldn't the cameras essentially be doing what they do now for violations?  I would think it would be a simple software change.

[MASTERNC]

There was a discussion in the Mid-Atlantic Delaware thread that mentioned the PTC continuing to set 55 MPH speed limits in work zones despite differing degrees of exposure to workers (this was based on the billboards talking about the speed limits protecting workers).  I was surprised that I found two exceptions to this involving widening projects.  Normally, the speed limit in work zones has been 55, even when widening has been on the outside of the road (behind barriers) and the lanes remain their normal width.  However, a bridge project east of Carlisle (which clearly involved road widening too) and the MP 31-36 work on the NE Extension both had no speed limit reduction when I went through them in the past month.  In the case of the latter, the speed displays going northbound still had a speed limit of 70.  Perhaps their policy is changing?

EDIT: Perhaps I spoke too soon.  Went up the NE Extension again this weekend and the work zone speed limit was signed at 55 MPH.

[Roadsguy]

Speaking of speed limits, is the section east of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel still that bad that it's still only 55 mph, even with the realignments and improvements? It seems like it could be at least 60, though I know the PTC likes to keep their 55-70 thing going. I wonder what the actual traffic speeds through here are?

[cpzilliacus]

Speaking of speed limits, is the section east of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel still that bad that it's still only 55 mph, even with the realignments and improvements? It seems like it could be at least 60, though I know the PTC likes to keep their 55-70 thing going. I wonder what the actual traffic speeds through here are?

I don't recall it being 55 MPH the last time  I was through there (Fall 2017), though GSV captured a 55 MPH speed limit sign in October 2016 on the eastbound side (downhill) partway between the eastern portal of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel and the church at New Baltimore.

After that sign, there are two more 55 signs, which are about a work zone ahead, apparently for a turnpike widening project.

EDIT: The widening was apparently for the westbound side only, but there was construction eastbound for the big slide remediation project (details here) - perhaps there was widening on the eastbound side after GSV drove through here.

At milepost 129.4 eastbound the speed limit went back to 70 MPH.

[Mr. Matté]

Speaking of speed limits, is the section east of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel still that bad that it's still only 55 mph, even with the realignments and improvements? It seems like it could be at least 60, though I know the PTC likes to keep their 55-70 thing going. I wonder what the actual traffic speeds through here are?

I don't recall it being 55 MPH the last time  I was through there (Fall 2017), though GSV captured a 55 MPH speed limit sign in October 2016 on the eastbound side (downhill) partway between the eastern portal of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel and the church at New Baltimore.

After that sign, there are two more 55 signs, which are about a work zone ahead, apparently for a turnpike widening project.

In another thread, I mentioned that there's some new random photo spheres taken by "B&V Cams" from April 2018. This location does show a 55 mph limit here on their pic.

[vdeane]

Speaking of speed limits, is the section east of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel still that bad that it's still only 55 mph, even with the realignments and improvements? It seems like it could be at least 60, though I know the PTC likes to keep their 55-70 thing going. I wonder what the actual traffic speeds through here are?

It was when I went through there on Friday, though not well signed.  It leaves one to wonder if the signage for the speed limit returning to 70 is simply missing only to throw in a 55 sign miles later.

[PHLBOS]

For those that use the Findlay Connector (PA 576); AET/Toll-By-Plate takes effect on June 3 (this Sunday).

Findlay Connector Cashless Tolling to Go Live on June 3

HARRISBURG, PA (May 29, 2018) – The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) today announced that Cashless Tolling will go live June 3 on the Findlay Connector section of the Southern Beltway (PA Turnpike 576) in Washington and Allegheny counties. "Cashless"  means there will be no coin baskets along the roadway; cash will no longer be accepted.

Customers who use the Findlay Connector will no longer pay at the six on/off ramp toll plazas, which will be removed. Beginning June 3, they will pay electronically at a new location on the Findlay Connector mainline – an "open-road"  toll zone at milepost 2.6 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.

[MASTERNC]

Looks like the Turnpike might be taking preliminary steps for AET on the main road.  In the past, the E-ZPass Express lanes and slip ramps have just had tag readers and not cameras taking photos of license plates (that was just at the exits).  However, passing through the northbound E-ZPass Express lanes at Mid-County, I noticed that there are now license plate cameras that flash just like in the exit lanes.  I guess theoretically someone could enter & exit without an E-ZPass and they could then be charged the correct toll plus the penalty (rather than the max toll).

[Bitmapped]

Looks like the Turnpike might be taking preliminary steps for AET on the main road.  In the past, the E-ZPass Express lanes and slip ramps have just had tag readers and not cameras taking photos of license plates (that was just at the exits).  However, passing through the northbound E-ZPass Express lanes at Mid-County, I noticed that there are now license plate cameras that flash just like in the exit lanes.  I guess theoretically someone could enter & exit without an E-ZPass and they could then be charged the correct toll plus the penalty (rather than the max toll).

The express lanes at the Gateway toll plaza at the Ohio state line have had cameras since the get-go over a decade ago.