Miami Dade Expressway

2013-05-01: Miami Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) directors voted 9-3 this week (Apr 30) to reconsider a toll increase they'd approved March 19. The proposal is that toll points along the 836 Dolphin tollroad will collect 60c tolls rather than the 70c tolls approved in March. The 836 is MDX's most heavily trafficked, longest and most lucrative tollroad.

Lower than expected net revenues at the Miami Dade Expressway Authority and reduced financial flexibility is cited by Fitch Rating as their rationale for a slight downrating in the south Florida toiler's outlook down from Positive to Stable. But the 'A-' rating for $1,067m of toll system bonds is maintained.

Fitch cites some difficulties in toll-by-plate as reducing debt service coverage ratios from an expected 1.41x to 1.3x this year and next.

Miami Dade Expressway have Faneuil doing the tail end of manual toll collection, as well as enforcement and contact center work in the move to all-electronic tolling. The recently awarded contracts for $11.1m go for three years to mid-2012.

Miami Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) is expected to begin formal procurement in early September of the toll systems needed to dispense with cash toll collection and go all-electronic. Along with North Texas Tollway Authority (Dallas TX) MDX has set 2012 as the target year for having all-electronic tolling (AET) complete, and cash collection permanently closed down.

No tolls will be collected on the Miami-Dade toll expressway system for the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday, and Friday also. The expressway authority board voted this month to waive all tolls as part of a two-day "customer appreciation" experiment.

They are giving employees time off too.