A few months ago we wrote about the upcoming HOV to HOT lane conversion on I-85 in Gwinnett County, and this weekend the tolling begins.
Saturday, October 1st the Express Lanes and Peach Pass are open! Motorists who want the option to use the new I-85 Express Lanes and the all-electronic toll lanes on GA 400 now can open a Peach Pass account by visiting www.PeachPass.com. Peach Pass registration is required for all vehicles using the I-85 Express Lanes, including toll-exempt carpools with three or more occupants, transit vehicles, motorcycles, on-call emergency vehicles and Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) with the proper AFV license plates (not including hybrids). A Peach Pass account costs $20 and adheres to your windshield (like the old cruise cards) and is electronically linked to your account. When you use the I-85 Express Lanes, tolls will be automatically deducted from your Peach Pass account.
Remember that the tolls will change based on time of day and traffic, so watch out for the signs posting the prices. We shall see how this all goes and if traffic (in the HOT lanes) are really that improved! Really the question is- how much would you pay to skip a few miles of traffic?
