As motorists hit the highways this holiday weekend, more than half will be speeding through Maryland tolls with E-ZPass electronic transponders - a Memorial Day milestone that has planners thinking about the next stage: high-speed lanes that would allow cars to pass through tolls without slowing down.
Already in use in some states, the "full-speed" toll collection lanes are included in plans for the Intercounty Connector in Montgomery County and in a widening slated for Interstate 95 north of Baltimore in the next few years. "Once the Intercounty Connector opens, we'll see a dramatic rise in the use of E-ZPass," said Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Secretary Trent M. Kittleman.
The new system will allow drivers to move at full speed while paying tolls electronically, either through E-ZPass or by photos of their license plates, though that will cost slightly more. Kittleman said a widened 10-mile section of I-95 north of Baltimore would also be equipped for separate high-speed E-ZPass-only use when it opens by 2011. Barring delays, portions of the ICC are expected to open in 2010.
Though based on 17-year-old technology, the E-ZPass transponder system is growing quickly in popularity. The device sends an electronic signal when a vehicle equipped with one passes through a toll plaza. The information is processed, and a toll is automatically deducted from a pre-arranged personal account the driver created with the Maryland Transportation Authority. The account can be automatically replenished via credit card, or a motorist can pay periodically by check or cash. It works in most East Coast states, though several, like Florida, have a separate, incompatible system.
"It makes a big difference in the toll plazas," said John Taylor, a Howard County resident who often travels to Philadelphia.
Kelly Melham, a spokeswoman for Kittleman's agency, said that over a half-million devices are on Maryland residents' vehicles. In June and July of 2005, usage was 41 percent of all vehicles, up 7 percent from 2004. Maryland operates seven toll facilities, including two tunnels, four bridges, and Kennedy Highway (I-95), which all take E-ZPass.
The system is really a cooperative among participating agencies that pay annual dues ranging from $17,500 to $70,000, plus their own operating expenses. Melham said Maryland pays $1 million a month to ACS State and Local Solutions of Dallas to operate the system, plus internal operating costs.
