Maryland officials hope ‘cash-less’ toll plan will alleviate traffic havoc
OCEAN CITY, Md. - A new “cash-less” toll plan is in place at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for Thursdays and Fridays. It’s aimed at avoiding another traffic nightmare.
Maryland Transportation Authority has made the change in response to a massive 14-mile backup last week.
The idea is get rid of cash lanes where driver stop their cars, hand over money, get change and drive off. Starting Thursday, Oct. 3, Bay Bridge cashless tolling is now in effect both Thursday and Friday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Toll lanes will be narrowed to six lanes on the left side of the plaza.
Last week, construction reduced lanes on the Bay Bridge leading to a 14-mile backup for drivers heading to the Eastern Shore. Now, even if you do not have EZ -pass you don’t have to stop. Cash drivers can just move through the toll plaza without stopping and will still get the $4 toll bill in the mail.
Maryland Transportation Officials put the cashless system in place to avoid a repeat of last week’s traffic delays. But Maryland’s Comptroller Peter Franchot tells FOX 5 that state transportation officials should have anticipated the backup and that drivers unnecessarily waited in hours of traffic due to poor planning.
“The fact of the matter is they dropped the ball,” the Comptroller said. “They did not do their proper planning! They did not consult with first responders or the motorists, and they said, “Hey look folks, it’s going to be inconvenient!”
Now Franchot says he wants the toll plazas torn down all together.
Some drivers FOX 5 spoke with agreed. “I think that would take care of a lot of the backups” said one driver.
Another added, “It’s a great idea, get the EZ-Pass going and stop the lines because it’s a nightmare.”
Others are still reeling from last week’s backups. One woman says officials should have been ready for the congestion at the toll booths because “on a Friday, everybody’s heading to Ocean City, trying to get home from work it just compounds the issue.”
The Comptroller says the technology exists to remove the toll booths and put up a system that can electronically read both EZ-Pass’s and issue bills to non EZ-Pass users.
He says he’s not concerned about lost revenue from the cashless system. He tells FOX 5 that’s the ‘last of his concerns” – keeping traffic moving is the priority.