Years of planning and construction will culminate Monday for the Kansas Turnpike Authority as cashless tolling begins systemwide.
The KTA says the change from the traditional tolling method to cashless was studied for close to a decade before construction began over the past two to three years. In that time, the Turnpike Authority has been raising bridges and installing gantries for the purpose of reading license plates up and down the nearly 240-mile highway. There is also more work ahead as interchanges, such as the ones at Emporia mile marker 127 and Admire mile marker 147, get reconfigured over the next 18 months.
As part of the changeover, the KTA’s customer service centers will be closed and self-service websites will be unavailable from Saturday through July 7. Drivers using the Turnpike Sunday and Monday should follow all instructions of on-road staff and nearby signage as they leave the highway. Customers also cannot pay for violation or video tolls between Saturday and July 7, but any tolls due in that window can be paid later in July without any issues.
Residents can sign up for a free KTAG account online through the Turnpike Authority’s new website, driveks.com, and they can get more information about the change to cashless, travel help matters and the KTA as a whole. KTAG customers will save 50 percent on tolls versus non-KTAG customers when cashless begins Monday.
CEO Steve Hewitt will join KVOE’s Talk of Emporia at 11:06 am Monday to discuss cashless tolling in more details.
