New tolling method for express lanes starts Monday in Interstate 25 ‘Gap’

EL PASO/DOUGLAS COUNTY LINE, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is making two major changes this week with the tolling system for express lanes in the I-25 "Gap" from just north of Monument to Castle Rock.

The express lanes on that 18-mile stretch opened nearly a year ago.

Starting Monday, CDOT will switch to a "dynamic tolling " method, in which real-time traffic conditions -- instead of the time of day or past traffic volumes -- will determine what drivers will pay for using the express lanes.

"It's simple economics," said Tim Hoover, CDOT's deputy director of communications. "By switching to dynamic towing, we're increasing the chances that when demand for the express lanes is high, more people will be able to use them. We can better manage use of the express lanes during peak hours and maintain the best possible traffic flow."

He said that tolls may change several times daily -- as often as every five to fifteen minutes -- but drivers will pay whatever the rate is at the time they enter the express lanes, regardless of whether it increases or decreases during their time ion the express lanes.

Hoover added that drivers shouldn't expect a significant increase in tolls along the Gap.

"And I in fact, I want to say that they are the second-lowest in the country," he said. "So, you know, there is not a great, to be really honest -- if it's the toll at its lowest and then if it's at its highest -- there's not a huge chasm there."

Starting on Saturday, CDOT will crack down on enforcement of drivers who illegally zigzag in and out of express lanes.

"If you're weaving in and out, and crossing the solid lines, you will get a $75 ticket," Hoover explained. "So, you can only enter and exit in designated places. and that's where the dashed lines are going to be. December will be a grace period and violators will receive warnings. After that, we'll start mailing citations. There will be an appeal process."

He said that that violations happen several hundred times a day, by drivers who may be unaware of how the express lanes work, or who simply don't care.

"If you're zigzagging, it's very dangerous," he said. "Because of the speed differentials you can have in the general purpose lanes. You can have traffic that's near standstill, while in the express lanes you could have people moving, 50, 60-plus 70 miles an hour. And drivers in the (regular lanes) aren't expecting toll lane users to merge. We see crashes all the time because of it."

Hoover said that CDOT has already started dynamic tolling on some of the Denver-area express lanes, and it eventually will be used on all express lanes in the state.

For more information, visit: https://www.codot.gov/programs/expresslanes/i-25-south-gap.