Va. auto toll system merges with E-Z Pass

Virginia finally is merging its SmartTag automated toll system with the E-Z Pass system used in many other East Coast states, allowing Virginia drivers to bypass tollbooths in the Interstate 95 corridor and vice versa.

The two systems will officially become compatible Wednesday, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Virginia has about 495,000 SmartTags on the road, and about 10.5 million toll transactions are conducted via SmartTag, according to VDOT.

SmartTag and E-Z Pass give drivers with prepaid accounts transponders to attach to their cars so a toll can be automatically deducted without stopping to pay cash to a toll worker.

SmartTag and E-Z Pass typically have dedicated toll lanes that allow those drivers to bypass lines at traditional tollbooths.

E-Z Pass is accepted in West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. It will be accepted in Illinois, New Hampshire and Maine next year.

“Joining E-Z Pass will allow for seamless travel in the Northeast corridor,” said VDOT Commissioner Philip Shucet.

VDOT spokeswoman Tamara Neale said Virginia adopted the SmartTag system in 1996, starting on the Dulles Toll Road, because at the time E-Z Pass just wasn’t as prevalent as it is today.

Deborah Brown, who has coordinated the changes for VDOT, said the final cost of the modifications is not certain yet, but she expects it to cost between $2 million and $2.5 million, less than the $3.5 million that had been budgeted.