New roadside toll system goes live on Alameda CTC’s I-580 Express Lane in California

A new electronic roadside toll system has started operating on Alameda County Transportation Commission’s (Alameda CTC) Interstate 580 (I-580) Express Lane in San Francisco’s Bay Area, California, US.

Alameda CTC has worked in close collaboration with Electronic Transaction Consultants (ETC) to deploy latest transportation solutions on the express lane that is one of the most congested and important roads of the US state.

The transportation solution will be beneficial for the section of I-580 passing through the cities of Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, in the eastern Alameda County.

ETC finalised the installation of the roadside toll system equipment after the completion of the roadway infrastructure improvement projects in mid-December last year.

The improvements also helped the agency to open the express lanes to traffic to ease congestion.

Covering a total of 14 miles, the I-580 Express Lanes includes one westbound express lane and two eastbound express lanes to facilitate the commuters.

The variably tolled express lanes not only provide solo drivers with a new option, but also boost carpooling and transit.

The express lanes allow the single vehicle drivers to pay a toll only when they need to use them, while vanpools, carpools, clean-air vehicles, transit and motorcycles can commute for free, using the new FasTrak Flex toll tag.

ETC CEO Keith Rayborn said: "We believe the innovative dynamic pricing technology implemented on the new express lanes will provide I-580 commuters with flexibility and convenience, as well as reduce congestion in the corridor for years to come."

The I-580 Express Lanes is the second project in Alameda County to install dynamic pricing toll system solutions delivered by ETC, the first being the Alameda CTC’s I-680 Southbound Express Lane.

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Image: The variably tolled Express Lanes system will be implemented on I-580 in California. Photo: courtesy of Walter Siegmund via Wikipedia.