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Issue 417 May 26, 2003
NJ Highway officials said this week that non-stop tolls will debut at the GS Parkway’s Hillsdale Toll Plaza by the end of the year. The high speed toll collection system, which will replace certain toll booths with 17ft high gantries holding E-Zpass readers, will allow motorists to continue through toll booths at 50mph, rather than 15mph or lower. The new system at Hillsdale will be the second in a series planned by NJ. Exit 6 on the Turnpike already has it. Turnpike Exits 1, 18E, 18W and Parkway toll plazas at Toms River, Raritan South and Asbury Park are all scheduled to receive the new system within the next few years. Pleasantville toll plaza on the Atlantic City Expressway will also see high-speed E-ZPass. Because high speed tolling does not require cars to slow down, it eases congestion and eliminates one of the biggest complaints about tolls. According to NJDOT data, the traditional "basket" method of toll payment can handle a maximum of 800 vehicles per hour, while the current 15mph E-ZPass system can accommodate 1,200 vehicles per hour. An "Express E-Zpass" lane with a 50mph speed limit, however, can handle 2,000 vehicles per hour.
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