Final Thruway Cashless Tolling Barriers To Become Operational

The two remaining cashless fixed-price toll barriers on the state Thruway will be in place this month. The Thruway Authority said cashless tolling at the Spring Valley Toll Barrier (I-87 – Commercial Only) will go live the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 19 into the morning of Thursday, Dec. 20, weather dependent.

The conversion of cashless tolling at the New Rochelle Toll Barrier (I-95) will take place in the overnight hours beginning Thursday, Dec. 20 into Friday, Dec. 21, again, weather dependent.

Those two will mean cashless tolling will be fully implemented at all seven of the Thruway's fixed-price barriers by the end of 2018.

Other cashless barriers include the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (I-87/I-287), North and South Grand Island Bridges (I-90), Harriman Toll Barrier (I-87) and Yonkers Toll Barrier (I-87).

Conversion to cashless tolling is expected to save commuters about 200 minute every year, the Thruway Authority said.

When cashless tolling is fully operational, motorists traveling through the New Rochelle and Spring Valley Toll Barriers will drive under a gantry with state-of-the-art sensors and cameras that read E-ZPass tags and capture license plate images so vehicles no longer have to stop to pay the toll.

Vehicles with E-ZPass tags are automatically charged and vehicles without E-ZPass tags will have their license plate image captured and a toll bill will be mailed to the registered owner of each vehicle. Customers who pay using Tolls By Mail will pay the same toll rate as previously paid by cash customers, and E-ZPass customers with New York accounts will continue to receive a 5 percent discount.

New Rochelle

In 2017, more than 20.4 million vehicles traveled through the New Rochelle Toll Barrier, accounting for more than 7.6 percent of the Thruway’s overall traffic. Located on the New England Thruway (I-95), the roundtrip toll is collected for traffic traveling northbound.

The existing New Rochelle Toll Plaza will be removed in several phases once cashless tolling is fully operational, which will result in altered traffic patterns. Through the winter months, drivers will continue to travel through existing toll lanes at reduced speeds without stopping until the booths are removed and the road reconfiguration is completed. Drivers are strongly urged to use caution around the toll plaza during this time, as it is an active construction zone. The posted speed limit when traveling through the toll lanes will be 20 mph.

Spring Valley

The Spring Valley Toll Barrier is for commercial traffic and passenger vehicles hauling a trailer only, and is located on I-87 north approximately one mile north of the exit 14A (New Jersey – Garden State Parkway). In 2017, more than 1.6 million commercial vehicles traveled through the Spring Valley Toll Plaza. Of all toll transactions at the Spring Valley toll plaza in 2017, 91 percent were paid using E-ZPass, the highest E-ZPass penetration rate on the New York State Thruway.

When cashless tolling goes live at the Spring Valley Toll Barrier, commercial traffic without an E-ZPass tag will no longer have to exit to pay a toll. Barriers will be installed to block access to the former toll plaza until it’s removed.

As the transition to all cashless tolling continues on the Thruway system-wide by the end of 2020, motorists are encouraged to sign up for E-ZPass. All drivers, no matter of residency, can sign up for a New York E-ZPass account at www.E-ZPassNY.com; at E-ZPass Customer Service Centers; or by calling the E-ZPass Toll Free Customer Service Center at 1-800-333-TOLL (8655). E-ZPass On-the-Go tags can be purchased at 26 Thruway Service Areas system-wide, more than 800 locations across the state including select grocery and convenience stores and government offices, state-operated DMV offices, and select cash toll lanes across the Thruway's 570-mile system.

Tolls By Mail will be used to collect toll payment from those without E-ZPass. Motorists are required to maintain updated address information with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Drivers who receive a bill can pay it online in a few short steps at the Tolls By Mail website (www.tollsbymailny.com), by mail or over the phone, and payment options include check, credit card or direct withdrawal from a bank account. Customers who call **826 from most mobile devices will receive a text message with a link to the Tolls By Mail website and information on how to set up a "Pay Toll Now" account.

Photo credit: NYS Thruway Authority.