Toll road or not

[jwakeman]

We are heading to Goshen and see several toll roads involved along the tom tom route.
The alternate is all of 4 miles longer. Who can advice which is the better drive.

[Campy]

I try to avoid them to save some green but a few years back it was the best route to Wisconsin to drive the tri-state toll way and it was not too bad. See which route is the easiest and let that help you decide.

[tech740]

Personally I like them. Usually smooth sailing and no stops other then toll booths. If you are comfortable towing on highways they are the way to go. Plus with fuel stations set up right along the way as rest areas it's simple on and off. Just my opinion though.

[Dave W]

For the most part, they are reasonable --- that is with the exception of the NY Thruway. With the E-Z Pass we just drove through Houston on the Katy Tollway with no trucks on either side and few other vehicles which is also a plus. I'll be interested to see what that convenience cost but peace of mind should be worth it.

[bsmith0404]

Been across that area many, many, many times when I was transporting. Take 94 (tristate) to IN 20, to IN 2, then get back on 20 going around the south side of South Bend. I've tried too many side roads and back roads hoping to find a quicker/better route, but couldn't. This is the route that probably 95% of the transporters use. There just isn't a better way across IN from the west side. Too many IN roads will end and require you to go out of your way several miles to get to the next road going your direction and a lot of them are rural roads with frost damage. The GPS will try to take you on 90 towards Portage, don't do it, just stay on 94.

[WaltBennett]

Almost every way west or north from us has toll roads and accepts EZ-Pass. Got one for when I'm towing (although getting the folks to understand four axles & ten wheels was a bit difficult!) and have used it in NY, PA, OH, IN, IL and a whole lot of other places. REALLY like being able to breeze through toll booths! Also gives a good discount over paying manually.

[the sodfather]

I think they are worth the cost of admission. Less traffic and usually a better surface.

[Bob Landry]

I guess I'm the odd man out on this one. I don't drive on them out of principle. The tax I pay on every gallon of gas I buy should cover the wear and tear I put on public roads. If the states got a decent share of the money, it might be different, but I refuse to support some Spanish company. I'll sit on the feeder and wait for the light to change. The gas I burn doing that is much less than what I would have to send to some government bean counter. Whatever I can do to starve our bloated, self-serving government out of a single dollar at any level is goos with me.

[Tbos]

Don't know about IN toll roads but I avoid the PA and NJ turnpikes like the plague. They are not maintained well.

[the sodfather]

I guess I'm the odd man out on this one. I don't drive on them out of principle. The tax I pay on every gallon of gas I buy should cover the wear and tear I put on public roads. If the states got a decent share of the money, it might be different, but I refuse to support some Spanish company. I'll sit on the feeder and wait for the light to change. The gas I burn doing that is much less than what I would have to send to some government bean counter. Whatever I can do to starve our bloated, self-serving government out of a single dollar at any level is goos with me.

I see your point. I don't mind new roads being a toll. I can't stand when they convert an existing road to a toll.

I like your tag line (I feel the same) but is that allowed in Austin? :eek::D
Bitter Gun Owner
Bitter Clinger
Armed Infidel

[bsmith0404]

The problem with going into Goshen from Iowa is that there aren't any good back road routes. The back roads zig and zag all over up there and you will probably put on an additional 20-30 miles plus 1.5 hours to get there. The towns are small old town with narrow streets and not fun to drag an RV through. Not to mention the GPS will be going crazy telling you to turn around constantly or taking you down some country road back tracking to where it thinks you need to go. Trust me, I've taken about every route you can think of to avoid toll roads, scales, etc up there, it's not worth it.

[Pmedic4]

I have no problem using the toll roads. In Illinois where I live, the Toll roads are well maintained, versus the Interstates. If any issue, it's that they have the money to repair and build new sections, so there will be places where there is construction more than the Interstates.

Drove I-88 this summer, and they had 35 continuous miles marked as 'under construction' with a 45 MPH speed limit, yet there were only about 3 or 4 places, where they were working on the shoulder - all the road work was done. Why they kept those 35 miles as UC, and had a slow speed limit was the stupidest thing. Personally, this is why people get frustrated with reducing speed in a 'workzone', because they aren't really doing any work. No construction company has the equipment to actually be working on this long of a stretch of road. They should limit construction zones to no more than 5 miles, to prevent drive fatigue and annoyance!

[Rickmuzick]

Generally speaking you are safe on MOST toll roads... STAY OFF the Pennsylvania Turnpike!

It is the most expensive toll road in America and is a weight and mile road. In other words you pay for both the distance and the weight of the vehicle.

There are sensors in the road as you approach the toll plaza's that determine your weight class; go over them to quickly and you can trigger a higher classification.

If you are going to use toll roads... get an EZ Pass for reduced rates.

The Mass. Pike is going to ZERO toll plaza's and ZERO cash effective 10/28/16. If you do not have EZ Pass you will get a bill in the mail when your license plate is run through the DMV.

[allmi01]

I use the Illinois Tollway a lot. My dually is considered a class 6 truck to a trip from Aurora east on I-88 to I-294 and north on that to the state line in Wisconsin will cost you $10 and change. that said, the roads are in pretty good condition and take a lot of traffic.

When towing, I become a class 7 truck. In either case, Illinois tollway discounts the rates significantly if you travel off hours. Rates are higher from 6am to 10pm on weekdays.

I did 2 different round trips from Aurora to Harrisburg, PA last year and the tolls were close to $100 each way as I remember with about 1/2 going to PA Turnpike and that road is not good. Lots of construction to widen it, adding lanes and improving surfaces but not worth the cost. I-80 is free and is in better shape across PA.

Indiana Toll road is is decent condition mostly and I agree with other, stay on I-94 (some construction but fairly decent condition this year) until US-20 to South Bend and take that and 2 to get to that area. It will save a few $ and miles.

Mike

[old timer]

Toll roads are a killer. So are bridges and tunnels. I spent $35 just to cross a bridge in New York City.
I have a easy pass from Florida. Does it work in most states on the east coast or do I have to get one for every state.

[allmi01]

EZ Pass works most everywhere except Kansas Turnpike, OK turnpike I think and there are a few others out west it doesn't. Easy of the Mississippi, it works pretty much everywhere. I-Pass in Illinois is part of the EZ Pass group so it works.

I had heard, and would like to get some confirmation, that the FMCA has made a rule that all electronic tolling is supposed to work everywhere by like 2017 sometime. They did that to make it easier for commercial traffic to not have a lot of different transponders for toll roads.

Mike

[CWSWine]

EZ Pass only works in the North east US and here is the states it works in.

http://e-zpassiag.com/about-e-zpass/where-can-i-use-it

[Desert185]

Other than bridges in Kalifornia, I'm glad I don't have to deal with toll roads. Having said that, NV is considering an individual county "fuel index" (tax) increase of 3% per year for county road funds. Not all counties will have it, so like now, fuel will be purchased in those counties with lower prices (defeating the fuel index proposal to a degree). Example: Costco gas price in Reno can be $.30 more per gallon than Costco Carson City (my Costco, thankfully :thumbsup:).

A daily tax avoidance policy can add up over time, if one pays attention to the death by a thousand cuts tax exposure.