Turner Turnpike going cashless

The days of fumbling for change while speeding down Turner Turnpike are coming to an end. The toll road will be officially cashless on May 1, with the transition happening overnight, according to Joe Echelle, executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.

Echelle spoke at April’s Chandler Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Rt. 66 Interpretive Center on Tuesday. He gave updates on several projects affecting the area, including the switch to cashless.

Echelle said that with 90 percent of transactions on the turnpike being Pike-Pass, cash collection is challenging. The system doesn’t pay for itself, with Pike-Pass subsidizing it for years. Not to mention the safety risks for employees working in the booths.

“Somebody has sat in that booth 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including every holiday, every snow event, every tornado, every storm,” Echelle said. “Not to mention having to stop in the middle of a high-speed roadway and make a financial translation.”

Echelle said accidents were routine before starting cashless transactions. Booths have been knocked into the roadway and sometimes caught on fire.

Going cashless means no more tollbooth workers are put at risk. OTA has been working with them and helping workers train to move into a new department or retire.

Nothing will change for PikePass users. Those who do not have a PikePass will use the PlatePay system. According to the OTA, the cashless tolling technology will allow drivers to continue through toll plazas without stopping to pay. Cameras at plazas will take a photo of each vehicle’s license plate as they pass through and bill the registered owned through the mail.

Echelle said the refund system that issued credit to drivers who entered the turnpike at Chandler and got off a Bristow will end, meaning every driver will be charged for using the full turnpike no matter how long they are on the road.

Eventually, OTA will tear down the tollbooths, but for now, people will be routed through what is currently the Pike-Pass lanes, he said. Echelle encouraged everyone to get a PikePass if they didn’t have one already as it will be cheaper than PlatePay.

Only two more turnpikes in the state have yet to go cashless—Will Rogers and Indian Nation Turnpikes. Will Rogers is set to go cashless around late fall/early winter, while Indian Nation will hopefully make the switch before the end of the year.

Echelle also spoke about the ACCESS program and the widening of Turner Turnpike. He said they held a groundbreaking in February east of Bristow, where OTA is widening 6.3 miles for $98.5 million.

They are prioritizing Bristow and then moving to the Bristow interchange. OTA is also currently in the design phase for the section between I-35 and the Kickapoo Turnpike.

He also said the Old Stroud Bridge replacement is a few months from completion.

It is the first phase in a project to realign the Turner and make the service plaza only accessible from the westbound lane.

The plaza will eventually have parking for up to 121 semis.

OTA will eventually address the Wellston interchange and replace the bridge; however, Echelle said it’s a difficult project due to the traffic situation.