The Ohio Turnpike is gearing up to gradually phase in its new updated toll collection system across Ohio over the next several weeks.

According to a press release, the new toll collection system will feature a combination of open road tolling lanes for E-Z Pass customers and a gated exit system for customers who prefer to pay by cash or credit card.

The switch to the new system began in 2023, with the first phase permanently opening the entry gates in all E-Z Pass lanes at 20 interchanges from toll plaza 52 in Toledo to toll plaza 259 in Warren.

Once the new system goes live, the exit gates in all E-Z pass lanes from toll plaza 52 to 259 will be open. However, motorists must still follow the 10 mph speed limit in the toll booths.

Additionally, 127 of the lanes were upgraded with new electronic tolling components such as sensors and other equipment to read E-Z Pass transponders and classify vehicles by the number of axels and vehicle height.

For non-E-Z Pass lanes, automated toll payment machines accepting both cash and credit cards were installed at all 20 toll plaza interchanges and the four mainline toll plazas.

Additionally, nine toll plaza interchanges will stop toll collection entirely meaning drivers will no longer have to stop to take a ticket or pay a toll and E-Z pass transponders will no longer be read.

This applies to multiple interchanges here in the Valley including tolls plazas 215 and 216 (Lordstown), toll plaza 218 (Niles-Youngstown), toll plaza 232 (Youngstown) and toll plaza 234 (Youngstown-Poland).

Non-tolled plazas will have signage reading "No toll, keep moving."

In addition, as part of the new system, the Eastgate Toll Plaza at milepost 239 in Mahoning County near the Ohio/Pennsylvania border will become a one-direction flat toll rate plaza.

All customers traveling eastbound on the Ohio Turnpike will not be charged a toll at the Eastgate Toll Plaza. New flat rate tolls will be assessed for both E-Z Pass and cash / credit card customers traveling westbound through the renovated toll plaza.

Two new plazas will open on the mainline including one at milepost 211 in Newton falls. These two plazas will be the new ends of the ticketed toll system.

In these new plazas, E-Z Pass customers will be able to travel nonstop at highway speeds on the dedicated open-road tolling lanes in both directions. Cash / credit card customers will be required to drive into the cash / credit card lanes and take a ticket.

In addition, the Turnpike Commission's new Class 8 toll schedule for long combination vehicles more than 90 feet in length will be implemented once the new system goes live.

This means the current $12 per trip fee will be replaced by the new Class 8 toll schedule.

Cameras will also be installed in E-Z Pass lanes in order to identify non E-Z Pass customers using the lanes. Violators will receive a mailed invoice for their unpaid toll rate, which can be paid online within 25 days.

If payment is not received within 30 days, a second invoice will be mailed with an extra $5 charge. Customers who still have not paid after 90 days will be sent to collections and their vehicle registrations will be blocked until their tolls are paid.

As for E-Z Pass customers, they will have their toll charged to their account at the new V-Toll rate, which is higher than the E-Z Pass rate.

Other new toll collection system projects on the Turnpike include the installation of automated traffic recorders to count and determine vehicles by class and weigh-in motion recorders to determine the weight of a moving vehicle.