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A sign at the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks shows the PlatePay rate for a two-axle vehicle on a segment of the Creek Turnpike on Friday.
A sign at the Creek Turnpike's Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks lets motorists know that PikePass and Plate Pay are their only options.
A plate-reader camera flashes at the Creek Turnpike's Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks.
Vehicles travel on the Creek Turnpike near Yale Avenue on Friday, the day the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority approved new toll rates for PlatePay users on the Creek toll road.
Signs on U.S. 169 direct vehicles to segments of the Creek Turnpike. The cost to drive the entire length of the turnpike in a passenger vehicle using PlatePay will be $5.80, nearly double the $3 cost for those with a PikePass.
A sign lets drivers on the Creek Turnpike know that the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks requires either PikePass or Plate Pay.
A sign lets drivers on the Creek Turnpike know that the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks requires PikePass or Plate Pay.
Excessive speed identified as factor driving increase in fatal vehicle accidents
Editorial: Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is tearing down its toll booths ... but you still get to pay
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority on Friday approved new toll rates for PlatePay users on the Creek Turnpike.
The cost to drive the entire length in a passenger vehicle using PlatePay will be $5.80, said Joe Echelle, OTA deputy director. That is nearly double the $3 cost for those with a PikePass, he noted.
The OTA is replacing coin receptacles with PlatePay, where a picture of a vehicle's license plate is taken and a toll bill is sent to the person who holds the registration.
Echelle said it is his goal to get the transition completed by Nov. 1.
PikePass uses a prepaid account with a device mounted on a vehicle's windshield. Tolls are deducted from the balance automatically when a driver passes through certain points on a turnpike.
The OTA has already converted several of its turnpikes to PlatePay, Echelle said.
The Will Rogers and Turner turnpikes will be the last to be completed, he said. The completion date for the two turnpikes is the summer of 2024.
The cash lanes are being eliminated due to safety concerns, Echelle said, noting that within the last six years, there have been 500 accidents in toll zones, some of which have been fatalities.
“PlatePay increases the safety of the folks that use the network,” said Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz, who also serves as OTA executive director and Oklahoma Department of Transportation executive director.
Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Chairman Gene Love said that about 49% of those who call the PikePass center about PlatePay bills convert to PikePass.
“They do that because the rate is so much cheaper,” Echelle said.
He said the PikePass system is less expensive to operate than PlatePay.
The system on the Creek Turnpike will measure each vehicle to determine its shape to assess a toll. Small vehicles, such passenger cars, will pay less. Large vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, will pay the most, Echelle said.
Gatz said Oklahoma is long overdue to go to a cashless system.
The Creek Turnpike’s west end is at the Turner Turnpike (Interstate 44). The northeast end is at the Will Rogers Turnpike (also Interstate 44).
In an unrelated item, Gatz said Oklahoma is in the bottom 10 for seat belt use at 85%.
To get in the top 10, the figure needs to be above 94%.
Featured video: City of Tulsa building an inclusive area at Whiteside Park
City building an inclusive area at Whiteside Park. Video courtesy of City of Tulsa
Turner Turnpike 1950's highway workers. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Turner Turnpike 1950's highway workers. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Turner Turnpike construction in Stroud. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Dignitaries took a bus ride to inaugurate the Turner Turnpike. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Turner Turnpike opening day dignitaries. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Roy Turner, former Oklahoma governor, cuts the ribbon over a lane of the brand new Turner Turnpike, May 16, 1953. Tulsa World File
The Oklahoma City gate of the Turner Turnpike on opening day as crowds waited for the highway to open at 3:00 p.m. Tulsa World File
Turner Turnpike in 1953. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma History Museum
A car goes through a toll gate shortly after the Turner Turnpike opened in 1953. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
The original Phillips 66 station served motorists when the Turner Turnpike opened in 1953. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Turner Turnpike in 1957. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma History Museum
Vehicle westbound on Turner Turnpike goes under canopy which at one time covered toll booths on Nov. 14, 1996. Tulsa World File
Mike Lee of Century Construction signals to crane operator how he wants beams lowered into place. The beams support new roadway to carry Oklahoma 97 over Turner Turnpike, in northern Sapulpa on Nov. 15, 1996. Tulsa World File
Cars go east on the Turner Turnpike near the Sapulpa exit during dusk on Sept. 18, 1997. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World File
Stroud City Manager, Earl Burson, poses near the Turner Turnpike where the Tanger Outlet Mall use to stand until it was destroyed by a tornado in May 1999. Taken April 27, 2000. Tulsa World File photo
Gary Richardson, running for governor is promising to take fees off Turnpikes. Has seven signs on turnpike declaring "make this turnpike free." photographed on Turner Turnpike on September 4, 2001. Tulsa World File
Traffic passes by Sapulpa on the Turner Turnpike on May 12, 2005, with Route 66 on the left, and taken from the 96th Street bridge. Tulsa World File
New bison sculpture which sits between the Turner Turnpike and Route 66 near Sapulpa on Sept. 28, 2007. Tulsa World File
Firefighters fight a fire next to the Turner Turnpike near West 151st on Aug 4, 2012. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World File
A crane towers over a construction zone on the Creek Turnpike in Tulsa on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The project is one of several currently underway by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. Tulsa World File
Turner Turnpike six lane expansion construction looking East from S. 152nd W. Ave bridge in Creek Co, OK, Sept. 11, 2018. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
Aerial view of the Turner turnpike (right) looking south west near the Tulsa entrance on Sept. 24, 2020. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
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I have covered the Oklahoma Legislature since 1994. I cover politics, appellate courts, state agencies and the governor. I have worked for the Tulsa World since 1990. Phone: 405-528-2465
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A sign at the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks shows the PlatePay rate for a two-axle vehicle on a segment of the Creek Turnpike on Friday.
A sign at the Creek Turnpike's Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks lets motorists know that PikePass and Plate Pay are their only options.
A plate-reader camera flashes at the Creek Turnpike's Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks.
Vehicles travel on the Creek Turnpike near Yale Avenue on Friday, the day the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority approved new toll rates for PlatePay users on the Creek toll road.
Signs on U.S. 169 direct vehicles to segments of the Creek Turnpike. The cost to drive the entire length of the turnpike in a passenger vehicle using PlatePay will be $5.80, nearly double the $3 cost for those with a PikePass.
A sign lets drivers on the Creek Turnpike know that the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks requires either PikePass or Plate Pay.
A sign lets drivers on the Creek Turnpike know that the Peoria-Elm exit in Jenks requires PikePass or Plate Pay.
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