NTTA raises posted speed limits at mainline plazas preparing for cashless

North Texas Tollway Authority's (NTTA) board has approved a staff proposal that they raise posted speed limits at all their mainline toll plazas to full highway speeds - granting full recognition to open road tolling. At present posted speeds from half a mile (0.8km) before the mainline toll plazas are 45mph (72km/hr) except for one plaza (DNT MLP2) where the post is 40mph (64km/hr).

Now there will be no special posted speed limits through the mainline toll plazas - just the prevailing general highway speeds. Of course as in most places in the US actual speeds are regularly 10mph to 15mph (16km/hr to 24km/hr) higher than posted speeds.

Rick Herrington deputy exec-director says the increases are made possible by the move toward all-electronic toll collection with improved lane striping geometry as stop-to-pay cash lanes are phased out..

First middle ORT in 1998

NTTA first introduced open road tolling down the middle of mainline toll plazas in 1998 when Segment I of the Pres Geo Bush Turnpike (PGBT) opened Midway to Preston. All four subsequent mainline toll plazas had the same feature of middle ORT, cash on the sides.

It was the first of the US tollers to convert all existing stop-to-pay mainline plazas to open-road-through-the-middle after a spectacular crash at the Dallas North Plaza #1 Jan 30 2001. An out of control truck carrying a dumpster full of building debris broadsided the central toll booths, breaking up the islands and knocking out canopy posts.  It left the canopy roof dangling, many power and communications cables severed and booths and lane equipment wrecked.

Hours later staff at the scene had a telephone conference with board members and the decision was made that rather than rebuild they'd take advantage of the demolition to advance plans for open road tolling. DNT#1 opened with 2+2 open road toll lanes April 21.

The highspeed electronic tolling was so popular they advanced plans to convert other toll plazas on the Dallas North Tollway and by June 2002 NTTA had central open road tolling at all mainline plazas.

August 2007 the decision was made to phase out all cash toll collection in a plan to convert to all-electronic tolling (AET). That is due for completion in 2010.

Second unexpected challenge at DNT#1

Again unforeseen events at the DNT#1 Plaza had intervened to suggest an accelerated schedule.

During works to widen nearby bridges over the Tollway reorganization of traffic for the construction had generated serious unexpected backups late 2006. The only feasible remedy was temporary suspension of cash toll collection with video tolling of transponderless vehicles. Without the need to separate and merge traffic on either side of the tolling point the congestion evaporated.

Traffic flows were improved so spectacularly that NTTA decided to make the temporary suspension of cash collection permanent at Plaza #1, and to advance plans to do the same systemwide.

400 toll collectors are being lost by attrition or helped to get other jobs.

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3081

TOLLROADSnews 2008-07-17