Coast to Coast Tolls, How much will they Cost?

[Jim Knight]

Hi guys,

Planning a road trip from LA to NY via Vegas and Washington.
I'm a Brit so I don't have any experience of toll roads, where they are or how much they cost.
Could anyone give me an estimate of what the tolls would be for this route or where I could find out?

Cheers,

Jim

[Foy]

Hi Jim,

I am not aware of any tolls along I-15 from the LA basin to Vegas, nor from Vegas up I-15 to I-70 in Utah, nor from Vegas down to I-40.

There are no tolls along I-40 and just one toll segment of I-70, that being between Kansas City and Topeka, KS.

Once you reach Washington, DC, bound for NYC, you should find a toll at a tunnel beneath Baltimore Harbor, one to cross the Delaware Bridge, and tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike. If the sum of all tolls (Kansas, Baltimore tunnel, Delaware Bridge, NJ Turnpike) were more than $60-75, I'd be surprised.

[sputnik]

Since you're a brit, I assume you'll be renting a car in the States. Beware of the so-called cashless tolls. I know there's one in Denver (e-470?) but I don't know if there are any others. I was warned against using this particular toll road as depending on the rental company you use, you could get hit with charges, taxes, fines etc for using the toll and knowing nothing about it - the rental company is charged a hefty fee for their car going through a cashless toll and they'll happily pass the charge onto you.

[Foy]

......I don't think one can end up on a cashless toll road and not be prepared for it by virtue of signage or designation on a highway map.

And a good catch in re I-470 in the Denver area. That one is new since my last trip through there some 9.5 years ago, I think.

What sputnik wisely and correctly refers to are newer toll roads where the motorist has no opportunity to stop at a tollbooth and pay a toll. Drivers have either a transponder aboard their vehicle which debits an account automatically, or a camera records the license plate number of transponder-less vehicles and bills the owner. Such has been proposed and approved for a new segment of highway here in the Raleigh, NC area. We can readily assume the car rental businesses will add fees and charges to the bill for the toll and charge your account long after you've returned to your side of the pond.

But I don't believe a current edition of a highway map will fail to signify any toll road, be it conventional or cashless. I furthermore don't think cashless tolls are in any way commonplace or widely distributed, at least not at the moment. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, and if so, I will be happily corrected by RoadTrippers with more recent and on-point experiences.

Foy

[glc]

The toll on the Kansas Turnpike between Topeka and Kansas City is $2.50. The toll on the Pennsylvania Turnpike portion of I-70 is $7.50. The toll through either of the Baltimore tunnels is $2. There is a $5 northbound toll on I-95 between Baltimore and Delaware, it's free southbound. There is a $4 toll on I-95 in Delaware. The Delaware Memorial Bridge is free northbound, $3 southbound. The New Jersey Turnpike is from $5 to $10, depending on exactly where you get off to go into NYC.

The following bridges and tunnels are $8, and are charged only one way, generally inbound to the city:

Outerbridge Crossing
Bayonne Bridge
Goethals Bridge
Holland Tunnel
Lincoln Tunnel
George Washington Bridge

The Verrazano Bridge is a $13 one way toll westbound.

There are other toll bridges and tunnels in the NYC area, and they can add up fast! All tolls mentioned are cash tolls, you won't encounter any mandatory cashless tolls on your route.

[Lifemagician]

.....I furthermore don't think cashless tolls are in any way commonplace or widely distributed, at least not at the moment. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, and if so, I will be happily corrected by RoadTrippers with more recent and on-point experiences.

Foy

Foy, now that Ohio has gone cashless, it is possible for me to drive from St Paul MN to Boston MA completely on a transponder. Thank God, no more cash needed.

Of course, in Melbourne there is no such thing as a cash booth. All tolls are electronic. And Sydney is rapidly going the same way.

However, it is not possible to end up on a toll road without knowing. Just as in the US, signs are everywhere leading up to the last exit before tolls. Anyone who is not aware they are on a toll road must be blind.

Lifey

[glc]

It's the cashless-only systems that are not that commonplace yet. Most roads and bridges/tunnels that have a transponder system still have cash lanes too.

By the way, I used C-470 around Denver last fall and have yet to receive a bill. That is true cashless - transponder or license plate pictures and billing.