The toll rates for the first segment of the InterCounty Connector will cost drivers $1.45 during the busiest rushes, $1.15 during the lulls and 60 cents overnight, the Maryland Transportation Authority said Friday.
But those are the costs for drivers with E-Z Passes. All others will have to pay $3 on top of the tolls since the highway connecting Interstate 370 in Shady Grove to Georgia Avenue in Olney will not have any actual toll booths. All fares are to be collected electronically, and those without transponders will be mailed their bills.
Truckers will have to pay more.
The 5.5-mile segment is scheduled to open later this year or early 2011, according to the MDTA. Tolls for the remaining sections have yet to be set but they will fall within the range approved in the fall.
“In response to public comment last fall, I am pleased that we can offer first-segment toll rates at the lowest end of the approved tolling plan,” MDTA Chairman and Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley said.
The peak periods will run from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Much of the rest of the day would be charged at off-peak rates, though overnight hours from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be even less.
The rates will be reviewed periodically to adjust for congestion, with the authority planning for quarterly reviews.
