DV Journal

(From a press release)

As travelers get ready to celebrate America’s 249th birthday with fireworks, parades and barbecues, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is preparing for a busy holiday travel period.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike projects that more than 5.88 million motorists will be traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike system from Friday, June 27 through Sunday, July 6. This is a projected increase of 3.4 percent compared to last year’s traffic tally during the same 10-day period (Independence Day in 2024 was on a Thursday).

The daily traffic projected for the holiday period systemwide are below:

With many leading travel experts predicting another national record for travel this year, the PA Turnpike will be doing its part to help keep vehicles moving. The PA Turnpike’s GEICO Safety Patrol safety teams throughout the system on the busiest days to assure travelers get to their destinations safely. All roadway construction and maintenance projects will be suspended beginning Friday, June 27 at 5 a.m. until Sunday, July 6 at 11 p.m. to ensure as many lanes are open as possible.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop T will have extra patrols during the holiday period to ensure drivers are following the posted speed limits, allowing proper distance between other vehicles and maintaining general respect for other motorists and driving conditions.

This is the first major holiday travel period since “Paul Miller’s Law” went into effect in Pennsylvania, prohibiting the use of hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped temporarily due to traffic, a red light, or other momentary delay. Additionally, a new law that went into effect last November bans devices that flip vehicle license plates to bypass tolls, engage in reckless driving, and facilitate more serious crimes without detection. Drivers caught with these devices commit a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of $2,000. This is in addition to established law which makes it unlawful to display a license plate that is illegible, obscured, covered or otherwise obstructed in any manner which inhibits the proper operation of an automated enforcement or electronic toll collection system.

Travelers in the west will notice the construction of pillars and metal beams over the highway as the PA Turnpike continues its conversion to Open Road Tolling (ORT). In an ORT system, tolls are charged electronically as customers drive at highway speeds without slowing down or stopping beneath overhead structures — called gantries — located between interchanges. Equipment on the gantry and in the roadway classifies and identifies vehicles & electronically processes E-ZPass or Toll By Plate transactions. ORT reduces confusion and lane switching associated with traditional, stop-and-go tolling. The switch to ORT occurred in January for areas east of the Reading Interchange (Exit 286) and the entirety of the Northeast Extension, while the launch on the western section of the mainline PA Turnpike is scheduled for early 2027.

Here are some tips for traveling this holiday weekend:

• Practice safe driving habits, including driving responsibly, powering off your devices and removing unnecessary distractions.
• If you see an emergency responder on the road, follow Pennsylvania’s Move Over Law and move over into an adjacent lane if it is safe to do so, or slow down to a speed of not more than 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
• Take advantage of the most cost-effective way to travel on the PA Turnpike with E-ZPass. Sign up online or find a nearby retailer to save 50 percent on your tolls.
• Be sure to properly mount your transponder for a more seamless trip.
• Regardless of whether you want to save with E-ZPass or travel with Toll By Plate, get ahead of your travel and easily manage your tolls through the PA Toll Pay App.
• Find out exactly how much your toll is going to be ahead of time with the PA Turnpike Toll Calculator.
• Know that help is just a call away, thanks to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Safety Patrol, sponsored by GEICO. Dial *11 via mobile phone to get support or report an incident or other emergency on the PA Turnpike.
• And remember, you will never receive a text from the PA Turnpike for unpaid tolls after your travel. Instead, you can access your account safely through the PA Toll Pay App or your E-ZPass Account to manage your account activity. When in doubt, go directly to the portal and avoid interacting with unsolicited texts, calls or emails.