Pulling the Plug

Michael Lapolla had inherited a problem. When he accepted the role of New Jersey Turnpike Authority executive director in 2002, he also accepted the unpleasant realities that came with it. His new organization was struggling with negative publicity, disgruntled customers and malfunctioning technology.

In late 1999, the Turnpike Authority launched a partial deployment of E-Z Pass, or electronic toll collection (ETC), on the turnpike. The system promised faster commutes, reduced toll plaza congestion and the convenience of prepaid tolls. Motorists bought into the concept and began signing up for E-ZPass in unexpected numbers.

The Turnpike Authority had been responsible solely for operating the New Jersey Turnpike until 2003 when it assumed operation of the Garden State Parkway as well. Both the turnpike and the parkway had dedicated lanes for E-ZPass customers. The problem was those customers still were required to creep through narrow toll plaza lanes at 15 mph, putting a kink in what was supposed to be a faster commute. If that were not enough, motorists on the parkway were forced to stop every 15 miles or so at a toll plaza. On top of all that, many E-ZPass lanes were improperly deployed, and a significant number of false toll evasion violations were sent to unsuspecting customers.

“In New Jersey, when people hate something, they let you know it,” said Lapolla, who received nearly 50 letters a day from unhappy customers.

From stop-and-go to streamlined

With nothing to lose, Lapolla and then-Gov. James McGreevey announced a massive retooling of the turnpike system. To speed transaction processing at the system’s toll plazas and reduce the stop-and-go tolling on portions of the parkway and turnpike, the Turnpike Authority decided to implement open-road tolling (ORT), or high-speed (express) E-ZPass lanes. To assist with the implementation, the authority turned to toll system provider ACS State and Local Solutions and HNTB Corp. HNTB had successfully implemented ORT at other facilities, including Georgia’s State Rte. 400 in Atlanta, the Oklahoma Turnpike and Orange County’s toll roads in California.

On the turnpike, 122 miles would be converted to ORT. On the 172-mile parkway, the authority and HNTB would combine the facility’s existing concept of alternate one-way tolling with ORT. The parkway, a divided highway with up to five lanes in each direction, is spanned by 11 massive mainline toll plazas. The frequency of the toll plazas was extolled in the 1950s by the parkway’s designers, who said it was for the motorists’ own good. A short “break,” about every 15 miles or so, relieves the monotony and removes the cause of many accidents, they argued. Motorists in the 21st century were not buying it.

The plan was to remove every other toll plaza in each direction and convert the remaining portion of each plaza to a one-way facility. Parkway customers wanting to pay cash would stop half as much but pay twice the toll. To provide even more mobility for E-ZPass customers, the authority added ORT to some of the remaining one-way facilities, so E-ZPass customers would not have to slow down at all.

After outlining the approaches for each tollway, the authority asked if HNTB could show significant results in nine months. Specifically, HNTB and ACS were to convert both the parkway’s Pascack Valley toll plaza and the turnpike’s Interchange 18W to ORT by late 2003. Weather delays kept the two projects from meeting their exact deadlines, but by the beginning of 2004 both facilities were open and transactions were markedly faster.

“Now through the use of the advanced express E-ZPass technology, each hour nearly twice the number of vehicles will be able to pass safely through the new express lanes,” Gov. McGreevey said in a public letter printed in TollRoadsnews.

Beating the clock

Following the two initial victories, 11 toll plazas on both the turnpike and the parkway were converted to one-way tolling, while six others were converted to ORT. High-priority toll plazas were completed in just six months. The remaining projects were completed in less than two years.

During the summer vacation season, thousands of motorists travel the parkway to the Jersey shore. To avoid escalating the heavy traffic with construction, every year the authority suspends activity until after Labor Day. Factor in winter weather delays, and construction crews only have about four good working months a year in which to complete a parkway project.

The aggressive schedule was undoubtedly the project’s No. 1 challenge. So the authority and the governor could make good on their public promises, the authority asked HNTB to employ three time-saving tactics, the first of which had never been done for a toll client. HNTB fast-tracked the design process, issuing plans that were not finished but complete enough that contractors could bid on the price and feel comfortable adhering to it. The shortcut shaved six to 12 months off the entire project.

Second, HNTB integrated ACS into the design process. Normally, the toll system provider would not be introduced until construction started. However, incorporating such vital information much earlier in the process helped to avoid design changes and construction change orders down the road.

Finally, as the conversion program entered its final months, the authority and HNTB increased the frequency of the normal coordination meetings, holding weekly meetings attended by everyone involved: the civil contractor and all of its subcontractors, as well as ACS and all of its subcontractors. During these half-day sessions, the participants dealt one-on-one with any issue that threatened to slow the project or delay an opening.

Open season

Time wasn’t the only enemy. There were other obstacles. All but one of the toll plazas were converted under live traffic conditions. One of the busiest was the Pascack Valley toll plaza, which is near a large shopping area. Crews were nearing the completion of its conversion just as the winter holiday season approached. So construction did not inconvenience holiday shoppers, the authority asked crews to perform the entire conversion with more than 84,000 vehicles a day flowing through the facility. Full traffic was allowed during peak periods, and lane closures were allowed only during certain off-peak periods. With or without full lane closures, design and construction crews often worked weekends and through the holiday season to meet the aggressive timeline.

The tight timeline meant more than long hours and live traffic. It meant ACS had to design its technology—a multilane, high-speed, highly accurate ETC system—while HNTB designed the required civil modifications. And as the civil contractor built the ORT modifications, ACS installed the technology. It all happened simultaneously, which further underscored the need for the coordination meetings mentioned above.

Fewer brake lights, more customers

Today, with the conversion complete, E-ZPass customers can travel several dozen miles of the parkway without stopping. And they flow through toll plazas at highway speed instead of 15 mph.

“The high-speed E-ZPass lanes were the key to unclogging toll plazas, increasing mobility and attracting new customers,” Lapolla said.

In five and a half years, the number of E-ZPass accounts shot from 863,000 to 1.8 million. The number of toll tags circulating in New Jersey doubled from 1.57 million to 3.6 million. Today, E-ZPass has become the payment of choice for 68.8% of turnpike customers and 65.3% of parkway customers.

“People pay to use our roads,” Lapolla said. “They have high expectations of us, and now E-ZPass in New Jersey is meeting—even exceeding—those expectations. I should know; I haven’t received an angry phone call or letter in months.”