Triangle Expressway

[cpzilliacus]

NewsObserver.com: Road Worrier: $37 in penalties assessed for $2.31 in late TriEx tolls

After Hicks and his wife were slow to pay for their first few trips, worth $2.31 on the Triangle Expressway, the N.C. Turnpike Authority was quick to hit them with a civil penalty and late fees worth $37.

With no cash collection plazas to slow the driver down, it will be easier in the future for any driver in your household to use a toll road without really recognizing that a bill will show up later in your mailbox. So if the letter says N.C. Quick Pass, you might want to open it.

[agentsteel53]

ouch! 

the one time I ran through a toll, it was with a rental car - so the letter took a while to get to me.  Hertz had simply put the bill, addressed to them, in their envelope and forwarded it to me.  No administration fee.

I called up the authority (whoever runs Denver's E-470) and they kindly debited my credit card 75 cents.

[cpzilliacus]

NewsObserver.com: Road Worrier: TriEx transponder problems take toll on drivers

Triangle commuters who are learning to live with a new-technology toll road have been hit this spring by waves of perplexing messages from the N.C. Turnpike Authority.

First, the agency sent baffling bills to hundreds of its non-customers, telling them they owe nothing for driving on part of the 540 Outer Loop that is not under toll — yet.

Next, the Turnpike Authority tacked late fees and $25 civil penalties onto bills sent to other drivers using the Triangle Expressway, telling them they'd better pay promptly — even for toll bills of less than $1.

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: North Carolina motorists "baffled" and "perplexed" by marketing?

[HazMatt]

I received the following email from NC Quick Pass on Friday.  I've been a supporter of the toll road since I first moved here, but they've really handled this poorly.  Bad customer relations (blaming the customer for being charged on a free road?) isn't going to improve their lousy numbers so far.  The road is virtually empty every time I travel on it, and I can't see that many people using it to bypass 55 down to 64.  Courtesy emails would be nice when a transponder doesn't read properly.  Or, my pet peeve, an email when they automatically replenish your account from your attached credit/debit card would be much appreciated.  Is this par for the course as far as toll authorities go?



Dear XXX,

Please do not reply to this message. This is an automatically generated notification.

NC Quick Pass would like to thank you again for your enrollment in our program and for allowing us to serve you.  To assure your account does not incur additional fees we would like to remind you to please keep your transponder properly mounted at all times. The electronic toll collection rate you receive by using a transponder is much lower due to the efficiencies of the transponder technology.  Not having your transponder properly mounted will result in a much higher occurrence of it not being detected on the toll road.

When your transponder is not detected, an image of your license plate must be obtained and processed which is much less efficient and more costly to NC Quick Pass.  Therefore per the terms and conditions you agreed to upon account opening, you may be charged an additional fee of $5.00 every month that 15 percent of your transactions are identified though your license plate and not transponder.

Although the toll rate on NC 540 is $0.00 through July 2012, the toll collection system must still process the transaction in the same manner.  Therefore, if your transponder is not detected, even for a $0.00 toll, you may still be charged the $5.00 fee.

If your transponder is properly mounted and you still receive a $5 fee, please contact the NC Quick Pass Customer Service Center via phone, email or stop by our storefront.

Sincerely

NC Quick Pass
Customer Service Center

[cpzilliacus]

I received the following email from NC Quick Pass on Friday.  I've been a supporter of the toll road since I first moved here, but they've really handled this poorly.  Bad customer relations (blaming the customer for being charged on a free road?) isn't going to improve their lousy numbers so far.  The road is virtually empty every time I travel on it, and I can't see that many people using it to bypass 55 down to 64.  Courtesy emails would be nice when a transponder doesn't read properly.  Or, my pet peeve, an email when they automatically replenish your account from your attached credit/debit card would be much appreciated.  Is this par for the course as far as toll authorities go?

The Maryland Transportation Authority (which operates the new Md. 200 (ICC) all-electronic toll road) did something similar last year during the two week "test drive" period when no tolls were charged.  I think notices were sent to owners of vehicles that did not have an E-ZPass transponder detected (E-ZPass users were not notified like this, but the trips on the road were shown on monthly statements with the toll amount being zero). 

[bob7374]

Yes, the customer is always wrong is not usually a winning promotional strategy.

Not going to help the Turnpike Authority either that the NC 147/Triangle Parkway section does not exist according to the new 2013 Rand McNally Atlas.

[Alps]

When your transponder is not detected, an image of your license plate must be obtained and processed which is much less efficient and more costly to NC Quick Pass.  Therefore per the terms and conditions you agreed to upon account opening, you may be charged an additional fee of $5.00 every month that 15 percent of your transactions are identified though your license plate and not transponder.

Although the toll rate on NC 540 is $0.00 through July 2012, the toll collection system must still process the transaction in the same manner.  Therefore, if your transponder is not detected, even for a $0.00 toll, you may still be charged the $5.00 fee.

If your transponder is properly mounted and you still receive a $5 fee, please contact the NC Quick Pass Customer Service Center via phone, email or stop by our storefront.

Sincerely

NC Quick Pass
Customer Service Center

I think this can get cleared up pretty quickly by a few calls. After all, if you didn't have E-ZPass at all, wouldn't your fee have been $0 even through video tolling? In other words, they charged you for the privilege of having an account. If they would have charged video toll users $5, that's one thing and then you have less of a leg to stand on. But right now, I think you have a good case.

[CanesFan27]

So according to an e-newsletter I just received, it appears that Phase II of the TriEx (from NC 55 - Apex to US 64) will open on August 1st.  Tolls will start on August 2nd.

Phase III from (US 64 to NC 55 - Holly Springs) will open in January 2013.

They hope that you will be able to use your NC EZPass  in other states by the end of the year.

[NJRoadfan]

So according to an e-newsletter I just received, it appears that Phase II of the TriEx (from NC 55 - Apex to US 64) will open on August 1st.  Tolls will start on August 2nd.

Phase III from (US 64 to NC 55 - Holly Springs) will open in January 2013.

They hope that you will be able to use your NC EZPass  in other states by the end of the year.

Going to miss it by a month (I'll be there next week). Hopefully its all done while I'm there for the holidays and E-ZPass is accepted by then.

[cpzilliacus]

News & Observer: Commuters eager for toll-road alternative to the daily slog on N.C. 55

N.C. 55 is the primary north-south road through the busy shopping centers and lush subdivisions of western Wake County. It hasn't kept up with the region's relentless growth over the past 20 years.

Mostly a five-lane run except for a two-lane bottleneck where it squeezes through the center of Apex, N.C. 55 struggles under the load of 30,000 cars and trucks each day. Speed limits change from 45 to 50 mph — but with traffic signals every half-mile, the usual rush-hour pace is stop-and-crawl.

When the third leg of TriEx opens in December, extending 540 another 6 miles farther south to Holly Springs, it will complete a long-awaited alternative for western Wake commuters who are willing to pay for relief from N.C. 55 congestion.

[bob7374]

News & Observer: Commuters eager for toll-road alternative to the daily slog on N.C. 55

N.C. 55 is the primary north-south road through the busy shopping centers and lush subdivisions of western Wake County. It hasn't kept up with the region's relentless growth over the past 20 years.

Mostly a five-lane run except for a two-lane bottleneck where it squeezes through the center of Apex, N.C. 55 struggles under the load of 30,000 cars and trucks each day. Speed limits change from 45 to 50 mph — but with traffic signals every half-mile, the usual rush-hour pace is stop-and-crawl.

When the third leg of TriEx opens in December, extending 540 another 6 miles farther south to Holly Springs, it will complete a long-awaited alternative for western Wake commuters who are willing to pay for relief from N.C. 55 congestion.

Interesting article and some of the comments as well. I took a tour of the NC 55 to US 64 portion of the TriEx on Sunday. Looks close to opening (construction vehicles certainly had no problem traveling the 6 mile stretch). All the lane markings and signs seemed to have been installed. They're still doing some work at the 2 interchanges. I plan to post photos on a blog post soon. For those with exit lists, the US 64 number is 59(A/B), Green Level West will be 62.

[bob7374]

Interesting article and some of the comments as well. I took a tour of the NC 55 to US 64 portion of the TriEx on Sunday. Looks close to opening (construction vehicles certainly had no problem traveling the 6 mile stretch). All the lane markings and signs seemed to have been installed. They're still doing some work at the 2 interchanges. I plan to post photos on a blog post soon. For those with exit lists, the US 64 number is 59(A/B), Green Level West will be 62.

The blog entry for my Sunday TriEx trip is now up: http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2012/07/another-sunday-triex-trip.html

[CanesFan27]

The second phase of the TriEx opened today (NC 540 from NC 55 south to US 64) and here's my photo set from the drive that six of us did this evening.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamontheroad/sets/72157630863048434/

[cpzilliacus]

The Road Worrier, Bruce Siceloff, in NewsObserver.com: So many toll-road transponders, so little TriEx traffic

Triangle drivers are buying lots of electronic toll transponders and setting up business accounts with the N.C. Turnpike Authority, but they aren't doing lots of driving on the new electronic toll road.

Not yet, anyway.

Traffic counts for the Triangle Expressway have lagged below expectations since early August, when the six-lane expressway was expanded beyond the first 3.4 miles that opened last December in Research Triangle Park. Now drivers also pay to use a 2.8-mile section of 540 that had been toll-free for five years, and a new 6.8-mile stretch of 540 from RTP to U.S. 64 at Apex.

[cpzilliacus]

More from the Road Worrier, Bruce Siceloff, in NewsObserver.com: TriEx drivers charged more for late fees than for tolls

[cpzilliacus]

Road Worrier, Bruce Siceloff, in NewsObserver.com: Federal funding cut, state law challenged on NC 540 Red Route

GARNER -- Federal regulators have cut off funding for a proposed six-lane toll road across southern Wake County, after rejecting arguments that they could approve it without studying an unpopular alternative route through Garner that has been outlawed by the General Assembly.

The road project may be dead unless state law is changed.

Prodded by the Garner Town Council, the legislature voted last year to prohibit the state Department of Transportation from even studying the so-called Red Route for the Triangle Expressway. It would bulldoze Garner homes, churches, parks and businesses to extend the 540 Outer Loop from Holly Springs to Interstate 40.

[NJRoadfan]

NCDOT hasn't said anything about the rest of NC-540 opening, but I noticed that the timetable page has changed the project open date to December 20th (it said December 31st two days ago). Still no word on the toll rates though.

http://www.westernwakeinfo.com/progress_schedule.html

[cpzilliacus]

NCDOT hasn't said anything about the rest of NC-540 opening, but I noticed that the timetable page has changed the project open date to December 20th (it said December 31st two days ago). Still no word on the toll rates though.

http://www.westernwakeinfo.com/progress_schedule.html

Still no word on North Carolina accepting E-ZPass on its toll roads either.

[cpzilliacus]

NCDOT hasn't said anything about the rest of NC-540 opening, but I noticed that the timetable page has changed the project open date to December 20th (it said December 31st two days ago). Still no word on the toll rates though.

http://www.westernwakeinfo.com/progress_schedule.html

N&O Road Worrier Bruce Siceloff: TriEx opens Thursday from Apex to Holly Springs; tolls start Jan. 2

The third and final leg of the Triangle Expressway will open at 6 a.m. Thursday from Apex to Holly Springs, giving commuters a two-week, toll-free tryout before electronic toll collection starts Jan. 2.

This six-mile section provides a long-awaited alternative to N.C. 55 through Apex, which has the worst rush-hour congestion in western Wake County. It extends the 540 Outer Loop south from U.S. 64 at Apex to N.C. 55 at Holly Springs, with exits at Old U.S. 1 (Salem Street) and U.S. 1. The completed toll road now reaches 18.8 miles from Interstate 40 in Research Triangle Park to Holly Springs.

Joyner said DOT officials expect to announce soon that drivers will be able to use E-ZPass transponders for their electronic transactions on the Triangle Expressway. E-ZPass is a consortium of toll agencies in 14 northeastern states, from Virginia to Maine to Illinois.

Many Triangle commuters have postponed purchase of separate N.C. Quick Pass transponders, hoping instead to pay for their TriEx travel with E-ZPass transponders.

The Delaware-based E-ZPass Group has announced its intent to allow its 21 million transponder holders to use their E-ZPasses for TriEx trips, and also to accept payment on E-ZPass roads from North Carolina drivers who use the $20 "hard-case"  version of the N.C. Quick Pass. Joyner and DOT officials say they expect to close the deal before Jan. 2.

[cpzilliacus]

NewsObserver.com:   Toll rate increases postponed as traffic rolls on Triangle Expressway

On the day commuters began using the last six-mile leg of the Triangle Expressway, the N.C. Turnpike Authority agreed to postpone scheduled rate increases for the state's first modern toll road.

Drivers in southern Wake County began taking advantage of a 13-day opportunity to drive toll-free on the new section of TriEx from Holly Springs to Apex, which was opened to traffic early Thursday morning. Electronic toll collection starts Jan. 2.

Drivers already are paying tolls on the first two sections, more than 12 miles from Apex to Research Triangle Park, which opened earlier this year.

[CanesFan27]

Was able to check out the new section of the TriEx on Christmas Eve:

Blog:
http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2012/12/tour-of-phase-iii-of-triangle-expressway.html

Flickr Set (29 photos):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamontheroad/sets/72157632342612752/

[AsphaltPlanet]

The overhead signs directing traffic to that road are gigantic.

[Chris]

That is a lot of information to get!


IMG_6760 by Adam's Journey, on Flickr

Nice photos

[jcarte29]

The overhead signs directing traffic to that road are gigantic.

I just mentioned this on the FB post...way too much for ONE highway. LOL