While putting air in his tire near the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Sean Malloy said he uses the highway often.
Malloy said he welcomes the change to open road tolling if it means it makes his commute more convenient.
“No brainer. They should’ve done that a long time ago,” said Malloy.
Tollbooths will soon become a thing of the past on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with the change that begins on Sunday.
Advertisement
Drivers will be charged electronically as they pass under overhead structures called gantries, instead of the traditional stop-and-go tolling. For E-ZPass drivers, the toll money will be taken out of your account, but others will receive a bill in the mail.
The commission advises drivers to make sure they mount their E-ZPass tag in their vehicle and have all their information including their vehicle and credit card updated.
Open road tolling allows drivers to pass through a toll, without the hassle of stopping. This method also reduces incidents on the highway and increases customer convenience.
The change will first start east of Reading and along the Northeast Extension.
Advertisement
Pennsylvania Turnpike to begin “open road tolling” soon: what EZPass customers should know
03:13
“I’ve had E-ZPass for a few years, so I’m kind of used to the drive-thru. I think it’s going to make it a lot simpler for everybody. I think it’s going to avoid a lot of congestion,” said Pennsylvania resident Tony Cuttone.
Another change is how the toll will be calculated. The turnpike will now use the number of axles, height, and miles traveled rather than the vehicle’s weight to determine the rate.
A 5% toll increase will also take effect on Sunday, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said that with open road tolling and other changes, most non-commercial drivers will pay less than they did before, but commercial drivers could see an increase of up to $5.
Advertisement
“We worked really hard behind the scenes to make sure that all of the changes that are coming with open road tolling are all revenue neutral,” said Marissa Orbanek with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Orbanek said the changes will modernize the system and also make it safer to travel.
“We actually have open road tolling highlighted throughout our system currently at the Delaware River Bridge which is closer to the customers in Philadelphia. And where we already highlighted open road tolling, we’ve seen a decrease in the percentage of crash rates,” she said.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said it will begin removing the toll booths later this year.
More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.
In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”
The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.
Advertisement
SC
“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”
With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.
What are Money Match checks?
The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.
“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.
Advertisement
However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.
According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property scam
On its website, the state treasury has a warning about scammers using text messages to target potential unclaimed property claimants.
The department “never reaches out to people in regard to any program, including unclaimed property, via unsolicited text messages.”
A special weather statement was issued by the National Weather Service on Friday at 10:06 a.m. until 1 p.m. for Warren, McKean, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Cambria and Somerset counties.
“Temperatures will drop below the freezing mark through midday with rain showers quickly changing to snow showers. Blustery winds may dry off roads and other paved surfaces, but any residual water from previous rain or melting snow could freeze up and result in slick spots through the afternoon,” explains the weather service.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.
