Toll Roads worth avoiding?

[SteveG1988]

Driving to the east this weekend from SE WI and will be taking I-94 through MI (and then crossing S. ON) to avoid the horrible Indiana Toll Road.  Avoiding the OH Turnpike is an extra plus.

It's that easy to get through both Canadian and US Customs right now?  I think I would take a few two lane non-freeway segments or a stoplight-infested four lane route through Indiana over going through Canada.

We waited less than ten minutes at US Customs at the Peace Bridge last month. Northbound a few days earlier we waited about 15 minutes at the Thousand Islands Bridge because there weren't enough lanes open. In both instances, we were at the Customs booth for less than two minutes.

It also depends on if it is your first time. Your Virgin crossing both ways can take longer. Second time is like 5 minutes tops, I took the Queenston Lewiston back in march, was 5 mins each way once at the booth, 10 minutes wait into canada, 0 minute into USA.

[webny99]

We waited less than ten minutes at US Customs at the Peace Bridge last month. Northbound a few days earlier we waited about 15 minutes at the Thousand Islands Bridge because there weren't enough lanes open.

I cross at the Buffalo/Niagara crossings all the time, which might be why the I-81/Thousand Islands crossing seems extremely antiquated to me. You can tell even by the quantity and type of questions they ask that they don't get much traffic compared to the crossings I'm used to. The bridges are only 2 lanes, and they don't even accept EZPass for the bridge toll - the entire experience feels like stepping 50 years back in time!

[vdeane]

I cross at the Buffalo/Niagara crossings all the time, which might be why the I-81/Thousand Islands crossing seems extremely antiquated to me. You can tell even by the quantity and type of questions they ask that they don't get much traffic compared to the crossings I'm used to. The bridges are only 2 lanes, and they don't even accept EZPass for the bridge toll - the entire experience feels like stepping 50 years back in time!

They do now.  US Customs is also upgrading their plaza, as is visible on street view.

[AsphaltPlanet]

The Canadian Plaza was just upgraded at the Thousands Islands Bridge as well.  It's much nicer than the old pre-historic facility.

[webny99]

they don't even accept EZPass for the bridge toll

They do now.

OK, so it hasn't even been a month yet. I figured it must be recent, as I last used that crossing about a year ago.

I actually haven't used the US crossing as much as the Canadian one, because on several occasions we've returned from the Kingston area via Wolfe Island (and thus crossed into the US at Cape Vincent instead). The US plaza at the Thousand Islands as I remember it may have been outdated, but there's no way it takes priority over Lewiston (which has a major capacity shortage in addition to the aging facility), so I'm glad both are happening and not Thousand Islands at the expense of Lewiston.

[1995hoo]

The Thousand Islands Bridge did not accept E-ZPass when we crossed it on June 21. I was trying to remember the last time I'd paid a cash toll prior to then and I think it was in 2013 at the Oldtown Low Water Toll Bridge between West Virginia and Maryland.

[bing101]

The Toll Road to avoid is the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza given that its the most jammed road in the Bay Area.

[sprjus4]

Tried out the US-50, US-301, DE-1 routing on Sunday, and had no issues.

Was able to maintain 70 - 75 mph on US-50 out to the Bay Bridge, and 40-55 mph over the bridge, then back up to 70 - 75 mph up US-301.

It was not packed, but enough traffic that I was able to get with a "group" of traffic the entire way and maintain that 70 - 75 mph without standing out per se. I can say first hand -nobody- obeyed the 55 mph speed limit on the entire drive, and even at 70 - 75 mph, was still passed by traffic doing 75 - 85 mph.

US-301 through Maryland is a very high-quality roadway, has a large median, limited-access, and has an interstate cross section. The 55 mph speed limit is absurdly slow. Like said above, easily able to maintain 70 - 75 mph without any issues, sharp curves, blind intersections, etc.

Overall, the US-50 / US-301 overlap could be 60 mph, then US-301 north of there could be 65 mph or even 70 mph.

At the state line, they had a lane closed and a 45 mph speed limit and what looked like repaving operations, but once in Delaware, it opened back up straight onto the new US-301 toll road, back up to 65 mph and onto DE-1. The $4 toll wasn't an issue for a one-time trip. Probably worth it rather than taking back roads and through Middletown to DE-1. My only concern with the toll road is that you are charged $4 for crossing the state line, but if you choose to get off and stop at a restaurant, store, gas station, etc, you are charged an additional $1 for re-entering, but if you don't stop at all, you don't get double-charged. There needs to be a way that once you pay the $4, you aren't charged again. I had wanted to stop in Middletown for gas, but I did not because I did not want to be double-charged.

In Maryland, there were two signs 11 miles and 7 miles in advanced warning about the toll road in Delaware. No signage directing how to avoid it though, no "last exit before toll" signage, simply indicating there was a toll road ahead.

IMO, US-50 / US-301 was better than I-95 because it avoided Baltimore, it saved $8, and it avoided what looked like a lot of reported congestion on I-95 north of Baltimore. Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was also a nice bonus.

Used US-50 / US-301 / DE-1 on the return again between I-495 and I-295 / NJTP.. I probably won't be using that overall portion of the I-95 / US-301 corridor in the future anymore, this last trip was due to having to go through DC for something, my usual routing is simply US-13 to US-113 to DE-1 from Norfolk, but if I ever go up the I-64 to I-95 routing again, US-50 / US-301 / DE-1 will likely be my preferred routing unless of course it's a peak travel time with backups near the Bay Bridge.

It's 5-10 minutes slower, but there's overall less traffic, and north of the US-50 / US-301 split, the traffic is light and is easy to maintain 70 mph mostly because everybody else on the road, including a lot of trucks, is at least going 65 - 75 mph. Not to mention, you completely avoid Baltimore and heavy I-95 thru traffic, and the tolls are less on that route compared to I-95. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge also is a nice and interesting crossing as well, something I-95 does not feature. It's easy to jump from US-301 to DE-1 now thanks to the Middletown Bypass, and connecting from DE-1 to the NJTP & I-295 is an easy connection taking US-13 - also a place to stop for food and/or gas since that short stretch is arterial.

[jeffandnicole]

Tried out the US-50, US-301, DE-1 routing on Sunday, and had no issues.

Was able to maintain 70 - 75 mph on US-50 out to the Bay Bridge, and 40-55 mph over the bridge, then back up to 70 - 75 mph up US-301.

It was not packed, but enough traffic that I was able to get with a "group" of traffic the entire way and maintain that 70 - 75 mph without standing out per se. I can say first hand -nobody- obeyed the 55 mph speed limit on the entire drive, and even at 70 - 75 mph, was still passed by traffic doing 75 - 85 mph.

US-301 through Maryland is a very high-quality roadway, has a large median, limited-access, and has an interstate cross section. The 55 mph speed limit is absurdly slow. Like said above, easily able to maintain 70 - 75 mph without any issues, sharp curves, blind intersections, etc.

Overall, the US-50 / US-301 overlap could be 60 mph, then US-301 north of there could be 65 mph or even 70 mph.

At the state line, they had a lane closed and a 45 mph speed limit and what looked like repaving operations, but once in Delaware, it opened back up straight onto the new US-301 toll road, back up to 65 mph and onto DE-1. The $4 toll wasn't an issue for a one-time trip. Probably worth it rather than taking back roads and through Middletown to DE-1. My only concern with the toll road is that you are charged $4 for crossing the state line, but if you choose to get off and stop at a restaurant, store, gas station, etc, you are charged an additional $1 for re-entering, but if you don't stop at all, you don't get double-charged. There needs to be a way that once you pay the $4, you aren't charged again. I had wanted to stop in Middletown for gas, but I did not because I did not want to be double-charged.

In Maryland, there were two signs 11 miles and 7 miles in advanced warning about the toll road in Delaware. No signage directing how to avoid it though, no "last exit before toll" signage, simply indicating there was a toll road ahead.

IMO, US-50 / US-301 was better than I-95 because it avoided Baltimore, it saved $8, and it avoided what looked like a lot of reported congestion on I-95 north of Baltimore. Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was also a nice bonus.

Used US-50 / US-301 / DE-1 on the return again between I-495 and I-295 / NJTP.. I probably won't be using that overall portion of the I-95 / US-301 corridor in the future anymore, this last trip was due to having to go through DC for something, my usual routing is simply US-13 to US-113 to DE-1 from Norfolk, but if I ever go up the I-64 to I-95 routing again, US-50 / US-301 / DE-1 will likely be my preferred routing unless of course it's a peak travel time with backups near the Bay Bridge.

It's 5-10 minutes slower, but there's overall less traffic, and north of the US-50 / US-301 split, the traffic is light and is easy to maintain 70 mph mostly because everybody else on the road, including a lot of trucks, is at least going 65 - 75 mph. Not to mention, you completely avoid Baltimore and heavy I-95 thru traffic, and the tolls are less on that route compared to I-95. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge also is a nice and interesting crossing as well, something I-95 does not feature. It's easy to jump from US-301 to DE-1 now thanks to the Middletown Bypass, and connecting from DE-1 to the NJTP & I-295 is an easy connection taking US-13 - also a place to stop for food and/or gas since that short stretch is arterial.

Totally agree on the 1/301/50 routing for anything between northern Delaware and the DC area.  What a wonderful ride compared to dealing with I-95!

[sprjus4]

What a wonderful ride compared to dealing with I-95!

Agreed. I never tried that stretch of I-95 yet, and even with two opportunities, I chose to avoid it both times. Both times looking on Google Maps and Waze just showed orange and red spots in the Baltimore area and on the rural stretches north of there. Plus you have to pay more to deal with that mess? No thank you!

[kphoger]

The Toll Road to avoid is the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza given that its the most jammed road in the Bay Area.

So what's your preferred route from, say, Oakland to the Mission district?

[tolbs17]

I wish NC 540 was never tolled. I hate toll roads! I'm glad I-95 was never tolled!

[byoungblood]

Most of the toll roads I use offer a significant time difference compared to the alternatives–for example, if I want to go out to Leesburg, the Dulles Toll Road/Dulles Greenway route is simply a lot faster than any other option such that the fairly hefty toll is worth it

VDOT is removing two of the red lights on VA-7, Cardinal Park Dr and Battlefield Pkwy, in the next two years, which means that the Greenway will only avoid one red light after 2021. I could see Lexington Dr being converted to right-in/out since there is easy access to the interchange at Ashburn Village Blvd. As it stands right now, there's only about a 2-3 minute difference between VA-28 and the Leesburg Bypass taking the Greenway vs VA-7 during off peak traffic times.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/rt_7_at_battlefield_pkwy.asp

[sprjus4]

Most of the toll roads I use offer a significant time difference compared to the alternatives–for example, if I want to go out to Leesburg, the Dulles Toll Road/Dulles Greenway route is simply a lot faster than any other option such that the fairly hefty toll is worth it

VDOT is removing two of the red lights on VA-7, Cardinal Park Dr and Battlefield Pkwy, in the next two years, which means that the Greenway will only avoid one red light after 2021. I could see Lexington Dr being converted to right-in/out since there is easy access to the interchange at Ashburn Village Blvd. As it stands right now, there's only about a 2-3 minute difference between VA-28 and the Leesburg Bypass taking the Greenway vs VA-7 during off peak traffic times.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/rt_7_at_battlefield_pkwy.asp

The few times I've headed up to Leesburg, I've always used VA-28 and VA-7. I took the toll road once, and saved at best 3-4 minutes.

[PHLBOS]

When I go down to Delaware from NJ, many of my trips land me in Wilmington.  Delaware Ave (DE 52) was my break-even point.  If I was on that road or south, I'll take the Delaware Memorial Bridge and pay the $4 toll.  If I was going to points north of that, I'd take the Commodore Barry Bridge and pay the $5 toll.

No doubt you know this but for those who may not know; the toll on the Delaware Memorial Bridge increased to $5 earlier this year, so there's no longer a cost advantage for using this bridge over the Commodore Barry.

On a recent road trip from Harrisburg PA to Youngstown OH we took the Pennsylvania turnpike and it cost $31 in tolls.  Cutting up to I-80 from Harrisburg would have avoided the tolls and according to Google Maps would have only been 4 minutes slower.  Spending $31 for a 4 minute shorter trip isn't worth it to me.

Later on in the trip going from Youngstown OH to Detroit we took the Ohio turnpike and paid roughly $11 in tolls.  But avoiding those tolls would have tacked on an extra 31 minutes to the drive (plus the non-toll route takes you along a lot of 2-lane roads).  Spending $11 for a 31 minute shorter trip is worth it to me.

While planning a for a road trip to Kentucky (staying somewhere between Lexington & Cincinnati depending on lodging prices) during my upcoming vacation; I did some routing & toll comparisons.

The quickest route, based on Google Maps would be to use the PA Turnpike (I-76) to New Stanton where I would follow I-70 into Ohio & pick up I-71 (via I-270) in Columbus & follow to Cincinnati & I-75 towards Lexington  The E-ZPass toll for the Turnpike from Valley Forge/Exit 326 to New Stanton/Exit 75 is $25.70.

Another routing that avoids the PA Turnpike completely would be to use I-95 towards Baltimore (I would shunpike the $4 Delaware toll) and follow I-695 to I-70.  From I-70, (the E-ZPass toll for the I-70/76 concurrency along the PA Turnpike is $9.60) I would take I-68 to I-79 in WV to I-64 and then follow I-64 towards Lexington and take I-75.

The calculated Google Maps time for the above-shunpike routing is just over an hour longer than the I-76 to I-70 routing.  The return-trip would incur an $8 toll for the I-95 northbound Susquehanna River (Tydings Bridge) crossing in MD (avoiding the Delaware toll of course).

Using the PA Turnpike (I-76) only as far as Harrisburg East (I-283) would incur an $8.30 toll (E-ZPass).  From there, one would use I-283 to I-83 to PA 581 to I-81 south to I-70 west to I-68 west and so forth.  That routing, in reverse, is only a few minutes longer than the I-95 routing with only a $0.30 difference in tolls (if one avoids the $4 Delaware toll).

Based on the above, I'll probably use the fore-mentioned I-95/495/95/DE 896/SR 279/I-95/695/70/68/79/64/75 routing for the journey in and use I-75/64/79/68/70/81/PA 581/83/283/76/476 routing for my return trip.

If my lodging winds up being in or closer to Cincinnati, I may use I-79 north instead of south in WV (where I-68 ends) and follow that route to I-70.

[Beltway]

VDOT is removing two of the red lights on VA-7, Cardinal Park Dr and Battlefield Pkwy, in the next two years, which means that the Greenway will only avoid one red light after 2021. I could see Lexington Dr being converted to right-in/out since there is easy access to the interchange at Ashburn Village Blvd. As it stands right now, there's only about a 2-3 minute difference between VA-28 and the Leesburg Bypass taking the Greenway vs VA-7 during off peak traffic times.

The Dulles Greenway already had to be widened to 6 lanes 10 years ago, so the upgrades on VA-7 may actually help them, and to avoid the need for another widening program.

[roadman65]

Any toll road that uses AET when you have a rental car.  FYI rental companies charge a daily usage fee after the first toll is run through.  According to Hertz, they say that the middle man must be paid as neither them or the state (or county agencies that run the facilities) sends out the unpaid toll notices or tracks the car's plates.  The third party has all the rental cars tags on their computer databases and assumes the responsibility in getting the renter to pay the toll, so they get their cut.

That is why I did not clinch the Sam Houston or Hardy Toll Roads in Houston nor drove TX SH 130 further west even to see the 85 mph speed limit sign.

[mb2001]

I've always disliked the northern part of the NJ Tpke; for no other reason than I find it boring, ugly, and depressing.

[roadman65]

I’ve always disliked the northern part of the NJ Tpke; for no other reason than I find it boring, ugly, and depressing.

I found one worse than that part along the Chemical Coast.  Its not a toll road but go to Texas and drive SH 225 and you will find more industry than the Arthur Kill has from Perth Amboy (Sewaren technically for the NJ Turnpike) to Elizabeth.

Talk about boring, but back to tolls yes I lived in Union and Middlesex Counties in NJ and can verify your observation there.  Though sometimes that road is most useful and worth taking despite the view it has.

[sprjus4]

Any toll road that uses AET when you have a rental car.  FYI rental companies charge a daily usage fee after the first toll is run through.  According to Hertz, they say that the middle man must be paid as neither them or the state (or county agencies that run the facilities) sends out the unpaid toll notices or tracks the car's plates.  The third party has all the rental cars tags on their computer databases and assumes the responsibility in getting the renter to pay the toll, so they get their cut.

That is why I did not clinch the Sam Houston or Hardy Toll Roads in Houston nor drove TX SH 130 further west even to see the 85 mph speed limit sign.

The one reason I hate AET. I like it for all other reasons besides this. When I visited California, I avoided toll roads like the plague. Some may have had toll booths still but did not take a chance.

If you had driven the part of US-183 that acts as the one way frontage roads to TX-130 while in Texas, you would have at least viewed the 85 mph sign. The speed limit on the "frontage roads"  (which is really US-183 - 2 lanes in each direction) is still at least 65 mph though, so it's at least somewhat decent. There's also no stoplights or stop signs on the frontage roads, only side streets have to stop. And there's at least once instance where the frontage roads has its own ramp to the intersecting road and the frontage roads also cross over the intersecting road with TX-130.

[kphoger]

Cross-posting from an older thread, figured it was pertinent.

Allow me to share my experience with pay-by-plate.

In 2010 or so, the Camino Colombia (TX-255) removed its toll booths.  From that point on, you had to either (a) have a TxTag or (b) set up a prepaid "day pass" account.  Option (b) is pay-by-plate, except that you never actually get a bill in the mail; the amount just comes out of the account.

We live in Kansas, we take annual trips to Mexico with multiple vehicles, and exactly what vehicles are going changes year to year.  So I decided to set up a day pass account.  I would then add the other person's vehicle (or people's vehicles, plural) onto my account in advance of travel each year.  The following year, I would call and update the info:  change my license plate on file if I had gotten a new one, remove last year's secondary vehicle(s) and add this year's.  It was a little awkward, but the system worked.

Unbeknownst to me, however, there were a few times that I neglected to make sure all vehicle info was correct.  That meant that, at those times, the gantry read a license plate for which it had no TxTag or day pass account to match.  As Texas and Kansas did not share DMV info back then, there was no way for TxTag to send me a bill in the mail.  And I had no idea, because I used the account very infrequently and only enquired of my balance once a year.

Then in 2014, we took TX-130 down from Georgetown to Seguin as part of our route.  The last stretch of that is cashless so, for the first time, I decided to do pay-by-mail.  After returning to the States, I got the expected bill from TxTag.  And–here's the important part–it didn't just have those recent charges on it.  No, suddenly TxTag was able to match all those missing tolls to a billing address.  I ended up with toll charges from multiple years and multiple vehicles tacked on.

Hopefully you can agree that my situation was quite complicated, and it would have been much less complicated if I could have simply planned on being able to pay cash every time.

[sprjus4]

Cross-posting from an older thread, figured it was pertinent.

Allow me to share my experience with pay-by-plate.

In 2010 or so, the Camino Colombia (TX-255) removed its toll booths.  From that point on, you had to either (a) have a TxTag or (b) set up a prepaid "day pass" account.  Option (b) is pay-by-plate, except that you never actually get a bill in the mail; the amount just comes out of the account.

We live in Kansas, we take annual trips to Mexico with multiple vehicles, and exactly what vehicles are going changes year to year.  So I decided to set up a day pass account.  I would then add the other person's vehicle (or people's vehicles, plural) onto my account in advance of travel each year.  The following year, I would call and update the info:  change my license plate on file if I had gotten a new one, remove last year's secondary vehicle(s) and add this year's.  It was a little awkward, but the system worked.

Unbeknownst to me, however, there were a few times that I neglected to make sure all vehicle info was correct.  That meant that, at those times, the gantry read a license plate for which it had no TxTag or day pass account to match.  As Texas and Kansas did not share DMV info back then, there was no way for TxTag to send me a bill in the mail.  And I had no idea, because I used the account very infrequently and only enquired of my balance once a year.

Then in 2014, we took TX-130 down from Georgetown to Seguin as part of our route.  The last stretch of that is cashless so, for the first time, I decided to do pay-by-mail.  After returning to the States, I got the expected bill from TxTag.  And–here's the important part–it didn't just have those recent charges on it.  No, suddenly TxTag was able to match all those missing tolls to a billing address.  I ended up with toll charges from multiple years and multiple vehicles tacked on.

Hopefully you can agree that my situation was quite complicated, and it would have been much less complicated if I could have simply planned on being able to pay cash every time.

I don't know how it was then, but I know at least on TX-130 you can go to https://www.txtag.org/vector/invoices/invoiceInquiry.do and pay your toll online without waiting to get in the mail. It's a lot quicker and easy to do IMO. That's what I've done in the past. Just enter your license plate and it will find recent transactions and you pay it.

[kphoger]

I don't know how it was then, but I know at least on TX-130 you can go to https://www.txtag.org/vector/invoices/invoiceInquiry.do and pay your toll online without waiting to get in the mail. It's a lot quicker and easy to do IMO. That's what I've done in the past. Just enter your license plate and it will find recent transactions and you pay it.

Wouldn't have done me any good, even if that were a thing.  I didn't know I had any unpaid tolls to begin with and, if I had, a bunch of them wouldn't have been under my own license plate number(s).

[StogieGuy7]

Driving to the east this weekend from SE WI and will be taking I-94 through MI (and then crossing S. ON) to avoid the horrible Indiana Toll Road.  Avoiding the OH Turnpike is an extra plus.  The Indiana Toll Road is constantly under construction; a construction project that often narrows I-80/90 (the main east-west route across the USA) to one freakin' lane in each direction.  Summer traffic can be epic, even sitting in the middle of nowhere.  Indiana absolutely sucks with thoughtlessly designed construction to begin with, but this one has been the worst.  So, this one has nothing to do with the cost of the tolls, it has to do with condition of the road.  And the IN Toll Road will be avoided both ways on this trip.

I-94 isn't much better.

I-94 through MI is aggrivating because it's still 4 lane as if it's 1972 and trucks/semis have to go slower than the rest of us - resulting in the occasional mega rat pack.  Still, it was way better than the massive sh!t show that is the Indiana Toll Road (where I was stuck in a 20 mile backup at 9 pm on a Friday last summer).  Anyhow we got through nicely in both directions using 94, then M-14 to 96 to the Ambassador Bridge.

[Flint1979]

Driving to the east this weekend from SE WI and will be taking I-94 through MI (and then crossing S. ON) to avoid the horrible Indiana Toll Road.  Avoiding the OH Turnpike is an extra plus.  The Indiana Toll Road is constantly under construction; a construction project that often narrows I-80/90 (the main east-west route across the USA) to one freakin' lane in each direction.  Summer traffic can be epic, even sitting in the middle of nowhere.  Indiana absolutely sucks with thoughtlessly designed construction to begin with, but this one has been the worst.  So, this one has nothing to do with the cost of the tolls, it has to do with condition of the road.  And the IN Toll Road will be avoided both ways on this trip.

I-94 isn't much better.

I-94 through MI is aggrivating because it's still 4 lane as if it's 1972 and trucks/semis have to go slower than the rest of us - resulting in the occasional mega rat pack.  Still, it was way better than the massive sh!t show that is the Indiana Toll Road (where I was stuck in a 20 mile backup at 9 pm on a Friday last summer).  Anyhow we got through nicely in both directions using 94, then M-14 to 96 to the Ambassador Bridge.

Yeah I-94 really needs an upgrade throughout entire state. The last 20 miles to Port Huron are probably ok but the rest of it is pretty obsolete especially some of those interchanges in Detroit like at the Lodge. Yeah taking M-14 to I-96 is in fact a better route than staying on I-94 even though you cross I-94 again.