You can now drive this vehicle on the I-77 toll lanes – for double or triple the cost
If you drive a box truck or a flatbed or run a lawn care or other business whose vans pull a single-axle trailer, you can drive in the Interstate 77 toll lanes beginning on Monday.
The hitch?
You’ll pay double or triple the rate of car drivers.
State highway officials and I-77 Mobility Partners LLC, which financed, built and manages the lanes, announced a three-year pilot program on Friday to allow a new classification of “extended vehicles” in the lanes.
Vehicles longer than 20 feet haven’t been allowed in the 26 miles of toll or “express” lanes from uptown Charlotte to Mooresville at Lake Norman.
The pilot program “removes the length limit and instead limits the vehicle types to those with two axles or two-axle vehicles with a one-axle trailer,” according to an I-77 Mobility Partners news release.
Vehicles longer than 22 feet will pay a toll rate multiplier of two most times of the day and week. The multiplier grows to three times during the morning and evening weekday commutes.
Tractor-trailers still aren’t allowed in the lanes because they exceed three axles, according to NCDOT. Motorcycles pulling a trailer can use the lanes because they’d qualify as an “extended vehicle.”
The larger vehicles now allowed in the lanes will pay more because of the space they’ll take up and for I-77 Mobility Partners to continue to manage speed and other factors given the additional vehicles in the lanes, according to I-77 Mobility Partners.
“This agreement will allow additional vehicles, such as delivery trucks, small business trucks and work trailers, the option of choosing a more reliable travel time by using the express lanes,” NCDOT officials said in a separate news release.
The move follows community input and that of a local advisory group formed by Gov. Roy Cooper to expand access to the lanes without cost to the NCDOT or local governments, state transportation officials said Friday.
The pilot program ”will be a game changer for many businesses in our area,’’ David Hannon, I-77 Mobility Partners chief operations officer, said in his company’s news release. “When a business can move a product or travel to perform a service in a reliable drive time, it makes them more efficient.”
NC Quick Pass transponders
What is an NC Quick Pass transponder: A device mounted on the inside of a windshield. A microchip in the transponder emits a signal that’s read by antennas above the road to automatically deduct a toll from the driver’s prepaid NC Quick Pass account.
Why you should get a prepaid transponder account: It’s the “fastest, easiest way” to pay tolls in North Carolina and other states that accept SunPass, Peach Pass and E-ZPass transponders, N.C. highway officials say.
Cost benefits of a transponder: Drivers can save up to 35% on tolls in North Carolina, according to the NCDOT.
How to open an account: Online at NCQuickPass.com; by phone, (877) 769-7277; in-person at one of the two Charlotte area NC Quick Pass customer service centers, 8015 W. W.T. Harris Blvd. in Charlotte and 3034 Winston Ave. in Monroe. Center hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.
Cost of opening a prepaid transponder account: $20 prepaid toll balance required for the first two transponders, $10 for each additional transponder up to five.
Do ‘extended vehicles’ need transponders? No, but drivers of such vehicles also receive the posted discount NC Quick Pass rate with a transponder, multiplied for extended vehicles.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 4:41 PM.