Tri-State Tollway Questions

[brunsje]

We are traveling west-bound from Middlebury, IN to Kellogg, IA (off I-80).  We want to avoid tolls when possible, but stay on the most direct route, so will travel U.S. 20 in Indiana to I-94W to I-80.  Once we enter Illinois, we know this involves toll roads (Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80)?).  Any hints for big-rigs?  Should we stay in the right lane?  Do the toll booths accept cash or credit card payments?  Or is it all ‘Pay By Plate?’  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance, JohnnyB

[Jaydrvr]

There are NO manned toll booths around Chicago. You can do toll by plate, but that actually doesn't work very well, unless they've improved it. Before I had EZPass, you were expected to look up each toll gate, calculate how much you owed and submit it. There was no way to look it up by plate. The very best way is to get an EZPass account with transponder. Then, you can just fly through with any truck legal lane. EZPass works in most eastern states, so it's a valuable asset. Jay

Edited March 19, 2023 by Jaydrvr

[Dapperdan]

I Agree with Jaydrvr, get an EZ Pass or and I Pass (Illinois's version of EZ Pass) and breeze through the tolls.  The I-Pass works all the way to the east coast fyi!  Timing is everything in large cities and Chicago is no exception, 80-94 isn't too bad mid day.  We've done it many many times!  Coming from Indiana, you won't be on much of the toll road to begin with so paying online might work for you.  If I remember correctly you have 7 days to go online and pay your tolls.

Stay in the middle lanes until you close in on the I-80 exit, watch for a back up for the I-80 west exit ramp, we've seen that ramp pretty backed up.  LOTS of truck traffic heading west, I-80 is a MAJOR route for commercial trucks heading west!   From that split you should have easy going into Iowa.  

 

Good luck, safe travels.

 

Dan

[Kirk W]

On 3/19/2023 at 6:18 PM, Jaydrvr said:

You can do toll by plate, but that actually doesn't work very well, unless they've improved it.

It has been several years since I was last in that area but when we were we had no transponders accepted by the toll authority. It took quite a while but we were mailed a bill that could be paid by return mail or online. Are you saying that they don't do that now? 

[Jaydrvr]

45 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

It has been several years since I was last in that area but when we were we had no transponders accepted by the toll authority. It took quite a while but we were mailed a bill that could be paid by return mail or online. Are you saying that they don't do that now? 

My experience is also years ago, perhaps not long after they eliminated the manned booths. At that time, their response was to look it up and pay it, but surely they've refined their system since that. I've had EZPass for many years, so I can't speak to their current system. I would certainly think that they would eventually send some kind of bill, but my reading at that time was then there would be penalties. Jay

Edited March 21, 2023 by Jaydrvr

[DJohns]

Sound like you need to talk to Illinois DOT for the update rules. In Texas and also Colorado you go on thru, then they send you a bill in the mail which is due in about 10 days. Personally I will never drive through Chicago on I-80 ever again.

[Kirk W]

10 minutes ago, DJohns said:

also Colorado you go on thru, then they send you a bill in the mail which is due in about 10 days.

With CO it depends upon the toll authority. The last time we were there I used 2 different ones. The Northwest Parkway authority mailed a bill based on our license plate that arrived about 3 weeks later, asking that we pay within 60 days of the billing date to avoid any penalty. The E470 authority had 2 different bills for out travel out and back and both were sent 4 times to the wrong address, then turned over for collection. They used the address that we had 5 years before when on that road. When I got the bill at last they pushed the $32 toll up to $78 with penalties for each of the two. I called and pointed out that the collection people sent to the right address and offered to pay the original amount and they said that to do so I would need to prove to them that I had moved before they sent the bill. 

[Jaydrvr]

24 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

With CO it depends upon the toll authority. The last time we were there I used 2 different ones. The Northwest Parkway authority mailed a bill based on our license plate that arrived about 3 weeks later, asking that we pay within 60 days of the billing date to avoid any penalty. The E470 authority had 2 different bills for out travel out and back and both were sent 4 times to the wrong address, then turned over for collection. They used the address that we had 5 years before when on that road. When I got the bill at last they pushed the $32 toll up to $78 with penalties for each of the two. I called and pointed out that the collection people sent to the right address and offered to pay the original amount and they said that to do so I would need to prove to them that I had moved before they sent the bill. 

And therein lies the issue with waiting on the governing authority for toll billing. Penalties are common and frequent and it's NEVER their fault or problem. So I prefer to be proactive and take care of it up front. Jay

[Chalkie]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

The E470 authority had 2 different bills for out travel out and back and both were sent 4 times to the wrong address, then turned over for collection. They used the address that we had 5 years before when on that road.

Yes, they are horrible. When we lived there I kept getting billing notices for my son's truck. I had briefly been on the title so he could get a loan. That was short term and I was removed from the title. They insisted that I was owner of the truck even after presented with a copy of the updated title. It took hinting that I was going to the local TV station's investigative reporter before they admitted that they were not working off a current DMV database. 

 

[Kirk W]

Out of all of the travels we have done, this is the first time that has happened.  On the toll authorities website there was a copy of the first bills so I downloaded and printed a copy of each and mailed it with the check for the original amounts. No more collection notices. 

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Jaydrvr said:

So I prefer to be proactive and take care of it up front.

How many different transponders do you have in order to always be covered on all toll roads? There are 38 states that have toll roads or bridges and some are like CO with multiple toll authorities. Fortunately, most transponders will work with more than one toll authority but so far they have not standardized and there are at least 17 different transponders. 

List of toll tags for each state

Edited March 21, 2023 by Kirk W
typo

[Jaydrvr]

53 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

How many different transponders do you have in order to always be covered on all toll roads? There are 38 states that have toll roads or bridges and some are like CO with multiple toll authorities. Fortunately, most transponders will work with more than one toll authority but so far they have not standardized and there are at least 17 different transponders. 

List of toll tags for each state

Fortunately, you only need two transponders east of the Rockies/Colorado. EZPass covers all the eastern states, plus you'll need the TX/OK/KS pass. I have the KS pass and an OH EZPass. I've never used a toll road in CO and I no longer go to CA. In my experience, IL is the most difficult of the systems to deal with if you're not using a transponder. Jay

[Kirk W]

10 minutes ago, Jaydrvr said:

Fortunately, you only need two transponders east of the Rockies/Colorado. EZPass covers all the eastern states, plus you'll need the TX/OK/KS pass.

The 2 toll roads I posted about are both east of the Rocky Mountains. E470 is a bypass from I70 to I25 on the east side of Denver. Northwest Parkway is access from north I25 to the suburbs to the west into the foothills just north of Denver.       😉 

I wonder if someday they will find some way to standardize so that each one can talk to the last one's transponder? In this age of electronic media, one wouldn't think that it would be that difficult. 

[Chalkie]

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I wonder if someday they will find some way to standardize so that each one can talk to the last one's transponder? In this age of electronic media, one wouldn't think that it would be that difficult. 

Found an interesting quote on just that topic. 

Quote

“To be very clear, it's not a technology issue,” said former U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-Florida). “This is a bureaucracy issue.”

Everyone wants to protect their turf (and job).

 

[Jaydrvr]

4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

The 2 toll roads I posted about are both east of the Rocky Mountains. E470 is a bypass from I70 to I25 on the east side of Denver. Northwest Parkway is access from north I25 to the suburbs to the west into the foothills just north of Denver.       😉 

I wonder if someday they will find some way to standardize so that each one can talk to the last one's transponder? In this age of electronic media, one wouldn't think that it would be that difficult. 

I believe they were supposed to standardize by about 2004, but we can see how that's been going. Jay

[Jaydrvr]

5 hours ago, Kirk W said:

The 2 toll roads I posted about are both east of the Rocky Mountains. E470 is a bypass from I70 to I25 on the east side of Denver. Northwest Parkway is access from north I25 to the suburbs to the west into the foothills just north of Denver.       😉

...which is why I said Rocky Mountains/Colorado.... In other words, east of the Rocky Mountains AND Colorado. Jay