High-speed tolls on the Pell Bridge in Rhode Island

[Bumppoman]

I just drove over the RI-138 Claiborne Pell Bridge from Jamestown to Newport today and enjoyed a new high-speed EZ-Pass lane.  I'm fairly certain this was not in place when I used the bridge last summer.  I was wondering if anyone knew exactly how long they had been open.  Also, were they really warranted?  Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience, but did traffic levels necessitate building them?

[roadman]

They activated the "high speed" EZ-Pass Lane on the Newport Bridge a couple of weeks ago.  I suspect the reason for putting the lane in was not to address traffic backups, but to reduce labor costs.

[southshore720]

Now if we could only get more of those for the Mass Pike!

The high-speed lanes will appeal to and appease the locals that use the bridge on the daily.  Many tourists coming into Newport tend to clog the cash lanes, which must drive the locals crazy!

[SidS1045]

Now if we could only get more of those for the Mass Pike!

Don't hold your breath for those, or for that matter for ORT.  The union that represents the toll-takers is too powerful.  Why do you think there are no exact-change lanes at exits 15, 18-19-20 or at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnel toll booths?  That's right, the union.  Any form of ATC means loss of jobs.  The union screamed bloody murder when FastLane appeared and got the exact-change lanes removed to keep employment essentially the same, but they're not going to let it go any farther than that without a full-scale war.

[Alps]

Now if we could only get more of those for the Mass Pike!

Don't hold your breath for those, or for that matter for ORT.  The union that represents the toll-takers is too powerful.  Why do you think there are no exact-change lanes at exits 15, 18-19-20 or at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnel toll booths?  That's right, the union.  Any form of ATC means loss of jobs.  The union screamed bloody murder when FastLane appeared and got the exact-change lanes removed to keep employment essentially the same, but they're not going to let it go any farther than that without a full-scale war.

The NJ union is keeping manual tolls in place here - pretty sure the NJ Turnpike Authority wanted ORT by now.

[roadman]

Now if we could only get more of those for the Mass Pike!

Don't hold your breath for those, or for that matter for ORT.  The union that represents the toll-takers is too powerful.  Why do you think there are no exact-change lanes at exits 15, 18-19-20 or at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnel toll booths?  That's right, the union.  Any form of ATC means loss of jobs.  The union screamed bloody murder when FastLane appeared and got the exact-change lanes removed to keep employment essentially the same, but they're not going to let it go any farther than that without a full-scale war.

With due respect to your opinions about toll takers (and I'm not defending them either), there a far more practical reason for eliminating the "exact change" at the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels tolls.  The toll is now $3.50 for passenger cars - how many people routinely carry that much change with them?  And there are EZ-Pass only lanes at all the locations you mentioned (not ORT, but better than nothing).

As for ORT, my spies have told me that MassDOT is in the final stages of developing a project to totally eliminate the toll booths on the Tobin Bridge and replace them with an ORT system.  If you don't have an EZ-Pass transponder, the system will take a picture of your license plate.  Not having a transponder will not be considered a violation, but you will eventually get a bill in the mail.  Toll rates haven't been announced yet, but you can bet the "Bill By Mail" option (as they're calling it) will be much more expensive than for EZ-Pass users.

I'm expecting there will be strong resistance to ORT on the Tobin Bridge from both the toll takers union and the "anti-Big Brother" types as well.  It'll be interesting to see how things unfold once the work is let for bids - which should be within the next two months.

[Duke87]

It will be a shame to see the toll booth on the Tobin Bridge go, considering its uniqueness. I know of no other bridge that has a toll booth in the middle of the structure.

[Alps]

It will be a shame to see the toll booth on the Tobin Bridge go, considering its uniqueness. I know of no other bridge that has a toll booth in the middle of the structure.

Don't you live much closer to the Henry Hudson Parkway bridge?

[roadman]

It will be a shame to see the toll booth on the Tobin Bridge go, considering its uniqueness. I know of no other bridge that has a toll booth in the middle of the structure.

Technically, the Tobin Bridge is two structures - the main cantilever span across the Mystic River and the smaller truss span (sometimes called the "Little Tobin") over Charlestown.  But I get your point.

[bugo]

How fast is "high speed?"

[PurdueBill]

Too bad the Fast Lane branding will be gone well before any high-speed toll would be in place in Mass......they could have offered Fast Lane and Even Faster Lane or something. 

[cpzilliacus]

How fast is "high speed?"

Posted speed limit on at open road toll gantries:

Maryland's Route 200 (55);
N.J. Turnpike Exit 1 (50 at the toll plaza, I think);
Garden State Parkway southbound at the Pascack Valley plaza (55);
I-95/Delaware Turnpike (55);
Delaware 1/Relief Route (at Biddles Corner) (55). 

I understand that the Mark IV technology used by the E-ZPass IAG allows reading of passing vehicles at much higher speeds, though I have not conducted any tests myself.

[cpzilliacus]

The NJ union is keeping manual tolls in place here - pretty sure the NJ Turnpike Authority wanted ORT by now.

Isn't the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) going to all-electronic tolling on the Atlantic City Expressway in the relatively near future?

With the N.J. Turnpike Authority to follow - at least on the Garden State Parkway?

[cpzilliacus]

Don't hold your breath for those, or for that matter for ORT.  The union that represents the toll-takers is too powerful.

There were many who thought the unions representing railroad employees would never allow their employers to get rid of firemen on Diesel-electric locomotives as the era of steam came to a close, and for a while, there were firemen on the Diesels, but eventually those jobs were eliminated.

Edit:  Neglected to type the word never above, which I have now added.

[deathtopumpkins]

How fast is "high speed?"

Posted speed limit on at open road toll gantries:

Maryland's Route 200 (55);
N.J. Turnpike Exit 1 (50 at the toll plaza, I think);
Garden State Parkway southbound at the Pascack Valley plaza (55);
I-95/Delaware Turnpike (55);
Delaware 1/Relief Route (at Biddles Corner) (55). 

I understand that the Mark IV technology used by the E-ZPass IAG allows reading of passing vehicles at much higher speeds, though I have not conducted any tests myself.

Not sure, but I seem to recall both DE 1 toll plaza ORT lanes being 65 mph.

Also, the ORT lanes on I-95 in New Hampshire are 65 mph, and the ORT lanes on VA 168 in Chesapeake, VA are 55 (only other two I know of)

[cpzilliacus]

Not sure, but I seem to recall both DE 1 toll plaza ORT lanes being 65 mph.

Have not been through there in a long time, so I defer to your knowledge.

Also, the ORT lanes on I-95 in New Hampshire are 65 mph, and the ORT lanes on VA 168 in Chesapeake, VA are 55 (only other two I know of)

Have not driven on I-95 north of Connecticut since the 1970's (though I did make it to Houlton, Maine then), so I defer to you on that as well.

I think I recall the Va. 168 speed limit as being 55 MPH all the way to the N.C. border.

[agentsteel53]

I believe the Will Rogers (I-44 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City) has 75mph advisory signs for its electronic toll collection, matching the speed limit.

[Duke87]

It will be a shame to see the toll booth on the Tobin Bridge go, considering its uniqueness. I know of no other bridge that has a toll booth in the middle of the structure.

Don't you live much closer to the Henry Hudson Parkway bridge?

I see what you're getting at, but... while the toll booth for the Henry Hudson Bridge is integrated with the structure, it is not elevated. The lower level plaza has ground directly underneath it. And it's at the end of the bridge, not in the middle.

So, on two counts, not quite the same thing.

[NE2]

I believe at least one of the bridges on Ocean Drive in South Jersey has a toll booth in the middle.

[Alps]

I believe at least one of the bridges on Ocean Drive in South Jersey has a toll booth in the middle.

Yes, and the Beesley's Point Bridge still has a toll booth in the middle - but never to be used again.

[deathtopumpkins]

I think I recall the Va. 168 speed limit as being 55 MPH all the way to the N.C. border.

It is. Even though VDOT has recently raised all rural interstates to 70, and even bumped a lot of the urban Hampton Roads interstates up to 60/65 from 55, and even posts many miles of rural divided highways at 60, VA 168 / the Chesapeake Expressway remains at 55.
The only reasoning I can possibly think of for this is that it was constructed and is owned by the City of Chesapeake rather than the state (as is typical for state highways within cities - usually this is not the case for freeways, but 168 was originally an arterial anyway), and the city would thus have control over the speed limit. This then begs the question of whether or not Virginia law allows municipalities to designate speed limits higher than 55... Can anyone confirm this? I'd rather not have to read through the law myself.

Also, at the risk of continuing even farther off-topic, does the same reasoning apply to the new alignment of US 17 constructed in southwestern Chesapeake? It appears to be built to even higher geometric standards (not a freeway, but based on curvature and lane/shoulder widths if it were I would say interstate-standard) but is also posted at 55, whereas US 17 from Gloucester to Port Royal is posted at 60 even though one carriageway (the original 2-lane road) doesn't even have a shoulder. I don't recall whose jurisdiction the segment in question is, though knowing Virginia practices it should be the City.

If anyone wants we can split this into a new thread.

[PHLBOS]

How fast is "high speed?"

Posted speed limit on at open road toll gantries:

Maryland's Route 200 (55);
N.J. Turnpike Exit 1 (50 at the toll plaza, I think);
Garden State Parkway southbound at the Pascack Valley plaza (55);
I-95/Delaware Turnpike (55);
Delaware 1/Relief Route (at Biddles Corner) (55). 

I understand that the Mark IV technology used by the E-ZPass IAG allows reading of passing vehicles at much higher speeds, though I have not conducted any tests myself.

Not sure, but I seem to recall both DE 1 toll plaza ORT lanes being 65 mph.

Also, the ORT lanes on I-95 in New Hampshire are 65 mph, and the ORT lanes on VA 168 in Chesapeake, VA are 55 (only other two I know of)

The ORT lanes at the northernmost mainline plaza along the GSP are also at 65 mph.

[1995hoo]

How fast is "high speed?"

Posted speed limit on at open road toll gantries:

Maryland's Route 200 (55);
N.J. Turnpike Exit 1 (50 at the toll plaza, I think);
Garden State Parkway southbound at the Pascack Valley plaza (55);
I-95/Delaware Turnpike (55);
Delaware 1/Relief Route (at Biddles Corner) (55). 

I understand that the Mark IV technology used by the E-ZPass IAG allows reading of passing vehicles at much higher speeds, though I have not conducted any tests myself.

I've seen 65-mph speed limits on SunPass ORT lanes in Florida on the Turnpike and the FL-417 partial beltway around Orlando. I've gone through them at 75 mph with no problems. Of course, that's a different technology from E-ZPass.

When the VA-895 Pocahontas Parkway opened, I saw an article in one of the Richmond-area papers reporting that the Virginia State Police had tested the ORT Smart Tag lanes (this was prior to Virginia joining E-ZPass) and that the toll-reading equipment worked at speeds of up to 100 mph. The article wasn't clear on whether the equipment would not work at higher speeds or whether they simply didn't exceed that speed in their testing (I presume the latter). Since Smart Tag used the same technology as E-ZPass, I assume that means the E-ZPass equipment would likewise work at up to 100 mph or more.

Back when New Jersey opened their first "Express E-ZPass" lane at the Exit 6 toll plaza–not a true ORT lane, BTW, they just widened an existing lane through the tollbooths and posted it at I believe 45 mph–there were reports in the media that they deliberately chose to say "Express" rather than "Fast" or "High-Speed" because they didn't want to suggest to E-ZPass users that it was OK to bomb through the toll plazas at full highway speed, this being prior to the opening of full ORT lanes. Not that any such thing stops people, of course; anyone who's driven on the Dulles Toll Road in Virginia has surely seen people bomb through the "E-ZPass Only" lanes at the main toll plaza near Tysons Corner at speeds in excess of 60 mph (posted limit 35 because they're converted from toll-machine lanes with the booth structure removed but a small median still in place between the two lanes). It can be quite dangerous for people to do that, too. I recall at least one time when I saw a near pileup when a carload of foreigners stopped in the E-ZPass Only lane trying to figure out where to throw their 75¢ and the people behind them were coming up at 50 mph or more. While the people who stopped were in the wrong, that's not an excuse for the drivers following behind to fail to anticipate that you might get some clod who doesn't understand the signs (and Virginia posts the purple E-ZPass sign at every single lane and doesn't use the flashing yellow light to denote E-ZPass Only).

[roadman]

I've seen 65-mph speed limits on SunPass ORT lanes in Florida on the Turnpike and the FL-417 partial beltway around Orlando. I've gone through them at 75 mph with no problems. Of course, that's a different technology from E-ZPass.

The ORT lanes on I-95 at the Hampton Tolls in New Hampshire, which is EZ-Pass, are posted for 65 mph.

[1995hoo]

I've seen 65-mph speed limits on SunPass ORT lanes in Florida on the Turnpike and the FL-417 partial beltway around Orlando. I've gone through them at 75 mph with no problems. Of course, that's a different technology from E-ZPass.

The ORT lanes on I-95 at the Hampton Tolls in New Hampshire, which is EZ-Pass, are posted for 65 mph.

Yeah, I saw that earlier in the thread and didn't see any reason to repeat what someone else had said. I don't remember whether those lanes existed the last time I went through New Hampshire.