Maryland readies new toll rates for multi-axle vehicles

The Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) is prepping a bevy of two-stage toll rate changes for multi-axle vehicles, with some tolls falling and some rising at key bridge crossing locations within the state. The MTA added that these changes will occur in two stages, first on Jan. 1, 2012, and then on July 1, 2013.

The agency said it’s lowering base toll rates for vehicles with three and four axles, as well as for vehicles towing light trailers, at many locations initially.

For example, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95) and Thomas J. Hatem Memorial (US 40) bridges, tolls will decline for three- and four-axle vehicles to $12 and $18 per one way trip on Jan. 1, respectively, compared to the $15 and $23 charged currently. However, on July 1, 2013, those rates will then increase to $16 and $23, respectively.

Heavy trucks, however, will see base toll rates increase on both dates, according to the agency’s collection tables. Again, using the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95) and Thomas J. Hatem Memorial (US 40) bridges as examples, five- and six-axle vehicles will see toll rates jump to $36 and $45, respectively, on Jan. 1 compared to the $30 and $38 charged currently, with those tolls rising again to $48 and $60 on July 1, 2013.

The MTA reports that rates for heavy trucks will also go up at its other toll collection locations as well, rising some $6 to $8 per trip at the Fort McHenry (I-95) and Baltimore Harbor (I-895) tunnels and the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) and $9 to $12 per trip at the Harry W. Nice Memorial (US 301) and Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US 50/301).

The agency added that its expanding its supplemental rebate program to individual transponders used as part of its EZ-Pass electronic toll collection system making 60 or more trips per month, while limiting rebates to vehicles with five or more axles.