News

RTA members and partners,

“Complete 540” phase one — from NC 55 in Apex to I-40 and future I-42 in Garner — opens on Wednesday. This is 18 miles of new turnpike freeway, which will almost double our current mileage in our region.

I am excited about the imminent opening of the southern Wake freeway next week, and the incredible mobility and safety benefits the “Complete 540” corridor will provide our members, their associates, and their families. I also want to remind our members of a free and easy way to save more than 1/3 off of regular toll rates – forever

If you travel on Toll 540/Toll 885, and/or on toll roads outside of our state, you may already have a NC QuickPass transponder. However, In North Carolina, there are no requirements to use a transponder to travel on any toll road in our state, although you will receive a significant toll discount by using one. If you travel on a toll road in North Carolina without a transponder, you simply pay the normal toll rate after receiving your invoice. With a transponder, you provide a fund balance in advance, and you save 35% on your tolls.

Fortunately, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority has a new way to save on tolls in North Carolina, even without a physical transponder.

All you have to do is register your license plate with the Turnpike Authority, and provide the make and model of your vehicle, and your address, along with a starting account fund balance of $10. There is no sign-up or monthly fee for a North Carolina virtual (or multi-state sticker) transponder, and your fund balance is simply a credit towards your future toll usage.

To be clear — you don’t have to register like this to access North Carolina toll roads — you can travel on the toll roads without a transponder, or without registering. But you will save money if you do register your vehicle, and provide a fund balance.

It takes around 5 minutes for you and/or your associates to sign up — either online, or via phone (877-769-7277), or by visiting our region’s NC QuickPass service center in Morrisville.

Fine print:

• If you only plan on using North Carolina toll roads, then this virtual toll transponder method is perfect. However, the virtual transponder will only work for our toll roads.
• If you plan on using toll roads in other states (e.g., Virginia, Florida, etc.), then I encourage you to get an NC QuickPass transponder, which works on many toll roads throughout the northeast, mid-west, mid-Atlantic, and southeast, as long as the road is part of the E-ZPass network. A sticker transponder is free; a physical, transferable transponder has a one time fee.

I look forward to the opening of 18 more miles to take advantage of the NC QuickPass transponder — physical or virtual — beginning this coming Wednesday when the 540 Southern Wake freeway opens to travelers.

Let’s get moving,

Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director

/th3.2024.38