Pennsylvania Turnpike Tolls To Increase 6 Percent This Weekend

Beginning this weekend, Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls will increase six percent for all motorists.

The increase, which will impact both cash and E-ZPass riders, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 7. The most common toll for passenger vehicles will increase from $1.23 to $1.30 for E-ZPass and $1.95 to $2.10 for cash drivers.

“We recognize that motorists pay a premium to travel on our roadway,” PA Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton said in a statement. “With that premium comes our commitment to maintaining and enhancing our 77-year-old system to provide a smoother, safer roadway for our customers during every season of the year and every hour of the day.”

Meanwhile, tractor-trailers in Class 5, the most common Class, will have tolls increased from $10.17 to $10.78 and $14.45 to $15.35 if they are paying with E-ZPass or cash, respectively.

Officials said that the increase is necessary in order for the Commission to meet their budget for projects in the coming year. They also pointed to the $450 million which they are required by law to give to PennDOT.

Over the past fiscal year, about 85 percent of the Commission's $500 million budget went towards projects which improved the roadway, according to officials.

The toll increase will not be in place on three parts of the turnpike, including at the Delaware River Bridge westbound in Bucks County and the Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit plazas in Lackawanna County. Rates at the Findlay Connector in Allegheny and Washington counties will not increase until April, authorities said.

The Commission plans on investing more than $2.4 billion in "widening, improvement, and construction" on the turnpike by 2022.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke