Merrimack residents argue that the Everett Turnpike tolls are unfair since other communities have not paid for infrastructure improvements with tolls. Tolls at exit 10, 11, and 12 of the Everett Turnpike were constructed in 1989 as part of a deal that brought the city of Merrimack nearly $50 million of road improvements related to industrial development. Long-term bonds still need to be paid off for the Merrimack upgrades, which is estimated to happen in 2022.
(The state is still considering whether to switch the Bedford toll plaza to all-electronic tolling, or open road tolling with some manned booths.)Ĭoncerns over privacy raised by this change were addressed in the transportation plan with a requirement that the Department of Transportation give people the option of using an anonymous transponder - one they could fund and use without it being linked to any of their personal information. The latest New Hampshire transportation plan budgeted for all-electronic tolling to be implemented at the Dover and Rochester toll plazas. In Massachusetts, where many toll plazas have been converted to all-electronic tolling, those using the pay-by-plate system are subject to a higher toll rate.
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With all-electronic tolling, all toll lanes are converted to "open road" - no manned booths are present. Those passing through would either use E-ZPass transponders to pay or would be mailed a bill based on a scan of their license plates.
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Drivers with an E-ZPass transponder can drive through those lanes and pay their toll electronically without slowing down. There are still manned toll booths at both of those plazas where vehicles without an E-ZPass transponder can pay the toll. New Hampshire currently has "open road" or high-speed toll lanes at two toll plazas: Hampton and Hooksett. The $1.9 billion ten-year transportation plan for 2019-2028 does not include any proposed increases in those tolls, nor does it call for new tolls. Toll rates for a standard two-axle vehicle - like a passenger car - range from $0.50 to $2.00, with discounts offered for New Hampshire residents with an E-ZPass transponder. Everett Turnpike (Route 3/Interstate 93). "Other than that, you?ll still have a four-hour traffic jam until you get to the tollbooth.There are three turnpikes in New Hampshire, where drivers may have to pay one or several tolls: the Blue Star Turnpike (more commonly known as Interstate 95), the Spaulding Turnpike (Route 16), and the F.E. "In theory, E-Z works if there's an E-ZPass lane from the Massachusetts line to the Hampton toll," he said. Traffic is always backed up at the Hampton tollbooth. When he heads north after work on Friday afternoons, he avoids the interstate, he said. Speaking officially, Brown wondered whether the cut in the discount will divert even more traffic off I-95 onto Route - in his town to avoid the toll and traffic. E-ZPass will offer a 30 percent discount. The current discount offered by tokens is 50 percent. "E-ZPass was easy to do online," he said. Seabrook Fire Chief Jeff Brown was among those who, seeing the line of 25 to 30 people on Wednesday morning, decided to sign up online. It would have been nice to have E-ZPass." "I just saw the sign and thought I would check it out," says Richard Maiman of Portland, Maine. They said this morning it was out the door." His wife drives to work in Massa-chusetts each day. Barrioz, of Farmington, has three vehicles. Mary, from Dover, says she's traveled to Seabrook after hearing the line at the Nashua welcome center was 2? hours long. It's sometimes easier to go through E-ZPass." "I'm not 100 percent sure I'm going to get it. "We're going to the Kittery outlets and camping in York," he says. Paul Peterson, who lives on the Cape in Massachusetts, was on his way to shop and visit. We want to get it before the price goes up." "My understanding is it costs $5 today and $29 later. We drive up from Florida and take trips," Jack McGuinness says. "We stay in East Wakefield on a lake during the summer.
E-ZPass is expected to be up and running in New Hampshire by the end of August. People say they're used to the system, now in use in every other state on the East Coast from Maine to Florida. Many had been driving north on the interstate, saw the E-ZPass sign and decided to stop. Question: "I live outside of New Hampshire. Questions such as: "I own car and tow a camper. Many of those who have decided to wait in line at the Seabrook welcome center stay because they have questions they want answered in person. Walk-in locations in Seabrook, Nashua and Hooksett and are not set up to handle a huge volume of customers.įrom Monday through Thursday morning, the state had sold 25,000 transponders and set up 14,400 accounts, he said. "Some people just have to do these things in person." "The walk-in location, we continue to emphasize, is for people primarily paying by cash or checks and who don't have a credit card," he said.