The Kansas Turnpike tollbooth at Emporia will soon be a thing of the past.
The Turnpike Authority says tollbooths at Emporia, mile marker 127, and Cassoday, mile marker 92, will be demolished by the end of the year. Turnpike Authority engineer Glen Scott says contract work at Emporia will begin later this month.
Demolition work at the Admire exit, mile marker 147, is tentatively set for next year.
The KTA says tollbooth “decommissioning” began shortly after cashless tolling made its debut systemwide July 1. Besides demolition, KTA tollbooth locations will also see lane reconfigurations as a safety measure. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says nearly 41,000 people were killed in traffic crashes last year, with 80 percent killed due to distracted driving and 15 percent of fatalities involving stationary objects like tollbooths.
