Pennsylvania Turnpike to Go Tollbooth-Free
The Turnpike Commission will switch to gantry-based Open Road Tolling statewide on January 3, 2027, with toll fees unchanged.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will move all Turnpike tolling to Open Road Tolling using overhead gantries beginning January 3, 2027, and toll booths will be taken down after the switchover. Drivers will not stop to pay, and toll fees will not change because of the system switch.
Why it matters
The change removes interchange toll booths, which Turnpike officials say have been less safe because toll apparatus sits in the path of traffic. Drivers without E-ZPass will have license plates read by cameras and receive a mailed bill.
The Turnpike, now 86 years old, carries more than 500,000 drivers daily, and its gantry system was tested for close to a year before the statewide switch. Each gantry sits beside a small building housing backup generators and information servers.
The players
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
The state agency that operates the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a toll highway system that has been in service for 86 years.
The details
Overhead gantries use cameras and sensors to tag vehicles as they pass underneath, gathering tolling data that is sent to the Turnpike's system, and each segment of a trip appears on the customer's invoice. E-ZPass holders must mount their tag and link their license plate to their account, while drivers without E-ZPass will be billed by mail.
Timeline
Two years before this announcement, Open Road Tolling launched in eastern Pennsylvania and the Northeast Extension.
Gantry testing began roughly one year before the announcement.
Turnpike officials announced the switchover on November 6, 2026.
Statewide gantry tolling is scheduled to begin January 3, 2027.
Roadmap
The statewide switch extends Open Road Tolling, already used on the eastern Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Northeast Extension about two years earlier, across the full length of the road. It completes a transition from interchange toll booths to gantry-based tagging on the Turnpike.
Drivers with E-ZPass must mount the tag and link their license plate to their account before the switch. Drivers without E-ZPass should expect a mailed bill based on camera-read license plates, with toll fees unchanged.
The takeaway
Drivers who use the Turnpike should link their license plate to an E-ZPass account before January 3, 2027, to avoid mailed billing surprises. The change keeps fees the same while removing stops at toll booths.
What happens next
Open Road Tolling goes live statewide on January 3, 2027, when toll booths begin to be taken down.
Further reading
For broader context on how tolling technology is changing road travel, see Electric Vehicles coverage in Pennsylvania.
