Open Road Tolling, Construction of Tolling Facilities Between MP 75 and MP 80

The PTC is in the process of converting traditional stop-and-go tolling facilities located at interchanges to cashless, all-electronic Open Road Tolling (ORT) facilities with overhead gantries located along the mainline. Vehicles pass through a series of specialized sensors along a tangent section of roadway at highway speeds to determine a vehicle’s height and number of axels. Overhead E-ZPass readers capture vehicles with transponders and cameras and take pictures of license plates to collect tolls via pre-paid accounts or Toll By Plate invoices. The conversion to ORT facilities will improve safety and mobility while reducing environmental impacts for all system users by eliminating or reducing weaving, queues, delays, fuel consumption, emissions, and site footprints typically experienced at traditional tolling facilities.

As part of the system-wide conversion, Drive is responsible for traffic control development at five (5) tolling facilities on I-70/I-76 in Western Pennsylvania. These sites, located at MP 78.7, 99.6, 144.7, 156.1, and 168.4, are to be completed and operational in 2026, with opening bids for the project anticipated to occur in May 2024.

Drive’s responsibilities include project management, attendance at client and stakeholder meetings, preliminary and final design of Traffic Control Plans (TCPs), Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) specifications, and cost estimation. PTC standards, FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and historical cost data were used to develop the contract documents. The typical sequence of construction will consist of four (4) stages. Stage one includes outside work behind guiderail or temporary concrete barriers and the installation of the overhead gantry using 15-minute stoppages. Stages two and three include short-term lane closures for median work, mill and overlay travel lanes and shoulders, and temporary pavement markings. Stage four includes the installation of permanent pavement markings and Sonic Nap Alert Pattern (SNAP) shoulder treatments.