New York State Thruway

[cl94]

Activation is scheduled for some point in the very near future. I'm not finding an official announcement, so I am not at liberty to share the date, but I'm honestly shocked it hasn't been announced. Massachusetts gave a bit more public warning.

[D-Dey65]

But the question is how well do they work? If they're anything like the Triborough Bridge, or the Francis Scott Key Bridge, they wasted money setting these things up.

[Jim]

Activation is scheduled for some point in the very near future. I'm not finding an official announcement, so I am not at liberty to share the date, but I'm honestly shocked it hasn't been announced. Massachusetts gave a bit more public warning.

There's this story that's been picked up in various places around the state:

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2020/11/11/new-york-thruway-cashless-tolling-poised-to-begin/6249127002/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

[cl94]

There's this story that's been picked up in various places around the state:

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2020/11/11/new-york-thruway-cashless-tolling-poised-to-begin/6249127002/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

"As soon as this weekend" is in line with what I have been told. Let's just say that, unless you drive the Thruway on a daily basis, your next trip might be AET.

[Jim]

I'm tempted to leave my E-ZPass home tomorrow to be able to get my hands on a final-days ticket.  Not willing to pay the "lost ticket" toll amount to be able to keep it, however..

[Jim]

And there it is: Cuomo says Saturday.

[vdeane]

Let's hope.  I'm getting sick of dealing with idiots at exits 24 and 45.  That said, last weekend would have likely been better, not only because I would have liked to drive though it AET before updating my website (to figure out how they're doing billing, as no names for the new mainline gantries appear on their website), but also because the weather was great last weekend, while this weekend it's supposed to rain.  I'd hate to see it get pushed back.  At least the rain is forecast for Friday morning and Sunday.

Given the lack of announcement, I honestly wonder if they're even going to have one at all.  They might just be planning to have everyone wake up one day to discover the Thruway is now AET.
(guess they're having an announcement after all)

[cl94]

That said, last weekend would have likely been better, not only because I would have liked to drive though it AET before updating my website (to figure out how they're doing billing, as no names for the new mainline gantries appear on their website), but also because the weather was great last weekend, while this weekend it's supposed to rain.  I'd hate to see it get pushed back.  At least the rain is forecast for Friday morning and Sunday.

No comment.

And there it is: Cuomo says Saturday.

Switchover is tomorrow night at midnight. A little over 34 hours left if you want a toll ticket.

[lstone19]

I wonder how they handle the actual logistics of the changeover. For a period after they switch, there will be people who entered before the switch and received tickets. Someone could enter at Woodbury just a few minutes before the switch and go all the way to Buffalo not getting there for eight hours or so (allowing time for some service area stops).

Or maybe they start photos of non EZ-Pass vehicles a few hours before the switch and so that they have the entry information if they exit after the switch.

No matter how they do it, it seems like the change from one large ticket section to several shorter virtual ticket sections with mainline gantries in the urban sections is a complication, even for EZ-Pass users (e.g. car enters at 15 and at changeover time is already past the gantry between 22 and 23 (end of the new 15 to 23 virtual ticket section) and then is scanned at the gantry between 23 and 24 before exiting at 24. System would have entry at 15, no exit from the virtual ticket section (as that gantry was passed before it went live), then the barrier gantry between 23 and 24).

Thinking some more, I'll bet all the gantries will be scanning several hours in advance so they have records and can reconstruct a trip that crossed the changeover if needed.

[Jim]

The overhead VMS signs changed from "Coming in November" to "Friday PM" for my commute home.

The pavement restriping on the 24 NB/WB ramp and what looks like the new exit from the Exit 24 Tandem Lot was more visible to my on my exiting EB 24 exiting this morning.

Hopefully the toll booths at 24 will be a high priority for removal once that process begins.  Though I really don't look forward to the high speed weaves that are sure to be on their way once the roadway is clear.

[shadyjay]

Hopefully the toll booths at 24 will be a high priority for removal once that process begins.  Though I really don't look forward to the high speed weaves that are sure to be on their way once the roadway is clear.

And I'm assuming at the south end of the ticket system at Harriman/Exit 16, all traffic will be directed through the EZ-Pass only lanes so that you don't have to go through the old booths, if even for a short time.

The Exit 24 toll will definitely push traffic through that cluster at a much higher speed than at present.  But given there's no gantry going up there (and instead, mainline barriers), I'm guessing the Thruway authority has a reconstruction project up its sleeve here, perhaps a direct ThruwayNB->NorthwayNB and NorthwaySB->ThruwaySB ramp.

[cl94]

Let's address 16 and 24:

- 16 is indeed being rerouted to the E-ZPass lanes. New gantry is up over the express lanes.
- 24...no reconstruction in the next few years, unless they're keeping it really under wraps. There will be a medium-term reconfiguration similar to what we've seen on the Mass Pike. The button copy will be replaced as part of this, so get your pictures now (if it's not gone already).

[Buffaboy]

Well, I guess if I want a ticket I'll have to go to eBay  .

When are the barriers coming down?

[webny99]

When are the barriers coming down?

Don't hold your breath. Others may know of a more exact timeline, but last I heard they'll be removed over the course of 2021.

[empirestate]

Let's address 16 and 24:

- 16 is indeed being rerouted to the E-ZPass lanes. New gantry is up over the express lanes.
- 24...no reconstruction in the next few years, unless they're keeping it really under wraps. There will be a medium-term reconfiguration similar to what we've seen on the Mass Pike. The button copy will be replaced as part of this, so get your pictures now (if it's not gone already).

I've started a thread in Fictional Highways where we can imagine reconfigurations of all Thruway interchanges, now that toll booths will no longer be necessary:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27979.0

[hotdogPi]

No more free I-87 ↔︎ I-88?

[lstone19]

No more free I-87 ↔︎ I-88?

According to the toll schedules posted on the NYSTA website, yes there still will be. With no gantry at 25A, I assume it will work on time. For instance, it you're scanned WB at the gantry between 25 and 25A (25/25A for short) but not at the 25A/26 gantry within a certain amount of time, then it will assume you exited at 25A and refund the 25/25A toll (and the same for the 24/25 gantry as the free area for 25A traffic is 24 to 26).

For traffic entering at 25A, I'd assume first scan at 25/25A EB or 25A/26 WB triggers an assumed 25A entry and appropriate toll adjustments.


iPad

[shadyjay]

When are the barriers coming down?

Don't hold your breath. Others may know of a more exact timeline, but last I heard they'll be removed over the course of 2021.

Yup, that's what the Thruway AET site says.  Now how quick that occurs remains to be seen.  When the Mass Pike converted a few years back, they had a very aggressive toll barrier removal schedule.  Just hours after the system went live, they were already tearing down the booths at the mainline plazas and they were all gone within, what, a month or so?  Regardless, it was very quick.

Now the Thruway is a much longer system and it would take more than a month to remove all the booths.  I'd start with the major I-90 mainline and Berkshire Spur ones (Int 24/Northway as well), and move on to interchanges next.  Not sure how much they're going to get removed, with the onset of colder/winter weather any time now.

[Jim]

If anyone can't wait until morning to see some of what's been under those covered-up signs for the last several weeks, the Thruway is tweeting some pictures:

https://twitter.com/NYSThruway/status/1327435640720535554

[SteveG1988]

Just drove it this morning from 0400-0730. It's live and going. All signs are uncovered between NY60 and I690.

[Jim]

It occurred to me as I was driving SB on the Northway yesterday afternoon to get on the Thruway that there is no clear indication (other than the New York Thruway shields on the signs) that traffic taking the ramp to get on at 24 is entering a toll road.  And now, a toll road without a cash option.  Most other states seem to be much more clear about the fact you're going to enter a toll road if you take this particular ramp.

[webny99]

Just drove it this morning from 0400-0730. It's live and going. All signs are uncovered between NY60 and I690.

Great news, can't wait to see how it's going (hopefully sometime in the next few weeks)! 

[shadyjay]

It occurred to me as I was driving SB on the Northway yesterday afternoon to get on the Thruway that there is no clear indication (other than the New York Thruway shields on the signs) that traffic taking the ramp to get on at 24 is entering a toll road.  And now, a toll road without a cash option.  Most other states seem to be much more clear about the fact you're going to enter a toll road if you take this particular ramp.

Not necessarily.  Its only been within the past few years where some states have added "TOLL ROAD" or "TOLL" black on yellow banners to such signs.  Mass. never used to have any indication that you were turning onto a toll road.  Now its common to see the yellow/black "TOLL ROAD" banner on those ramps.  On Mass Pike entrance signs, there was never a toll road indication, until they went to AET.  Now there's purple "EZ-PASS or Pay-By-Plate" banners.

[vdeane]

I found the Design Build Project page for the Thruway, which has the information for the cashless tolling and the booth removal.  Lost of interesting stuff, particularly part 6 and sections 2-5, 15, and 24 of part 7.  One of the documents also noted exit 24, Williamsville, Lackawanna, exit 45, and Caanan as the booths with incentives for early removal (in that order of decreasing reward).
https://www.thruway.ny.gov/business/design-build/

Looking at the cameras on 511 that are pointed at Williamsville and Lackawanna, booth removal has already begun.

[Jim]

I hope the Thruway plans to do what Delaware did, at least for a while, and put a removed toll booth on display somewhere.  I also hope that one or more of the old blue signs above the toll booths will be moved to a museum.