One Of The Most Expensive Roads To Drive In America Is Pennsylvania's 'Dream Highway'

Crossing the New Jersey border into Pennsylvania, you cruise onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, once nicknamed America's "dream highway." It's a breezy option for road-tripping across the whole state, connecting Pennsylvania's major cities from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. But what sounds like a dream can be swiftly shattered when you get your toll bill — depending on how you drive it. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is often ranked as one of the most expensive toll roads in the country, according to analyses by Budget Direct and Toll Guru, among others. How the once-revered highway ended up with this reputation comes down to a law passed in 2007 and some debts that followed.

In 2007, the state passed Act 44, which required the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to make annual payments to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The initial payments were as high as $900 million, then dropped to $450 million, and later to $50 million as of 2022. Needless to say, the PTC's debt grew, and its website states that paying it off is the chief reason the Pennsylvania Turnpike's tolls are raised annually — before 2007, only five increases occurred over 64 years. Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Associates, commented on the scheme in a CBS News report. "You're going to see more diversion to other roads and also diversion to other states," he said. If more people avoid the turnpike, then fewer tolls are paid. With fewer individual drivers paying, tolls must increase to offset the loss of cash flow.

The entire Pennsylvania Turnpike covers 565 miles. It traverses the length of the state with some offshoots, including one that goes to Scranton, the low-cost Pennsylvania city with diverse dining and art. Though Scranton may have low costs, getting there does not always (via the turnpike, at least). From the Delaware River Bridge, where the turnpike begins at the New Jersey border, it would cost a regular car over $60 via the Toll By Plate payment method to reach its endpoint just outside Scranton, according to its toll calculator at the time of writing. From the Delaware River Bridge to its western gateway would cost around $120 by plate — a quick way to up the budget on a Pennsylvania road trip to some of the state's best lakes.

However, if you have an E-ZPass, the cost is halved — over 86% of drivers use this method to drive and pay less for the highway. That way, a $120 cross-state drive becomes just over $60. Nevertheless, even with the discount, the Pennsylvania Turnpike can be quite expensive for some. Driving from end to end on the New York Thruway, for example, would cost just shy of $23 with E-ZPass as of this writing, according to the Thruway Authority toll calculator, despite the New York route covering more mileage than the Pennsylvania Turnpike's mainline. If you're planning a cross-state road trip or heading to one of Pennsylvania's underrated nature destinations that sit along the highway, it might be worth taking side roads and rerouting if you want to avoid the tolls.