How will new tolls affect your travel?

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Hampton Roads is no stranger to tolls.  Drivers who travel over the Coleman Bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel or the Chesapeake Expressway are used to paying extra to drive.

But, tens of thousands of new drivers will be introduced to added fees with the arrival of tolls to the Downtown and Midtown tunnels.

At the Coleman Bridge, the toll is $2. With an EZ Pass transponder, though, the toll drops to 85 cents.

"There's going to be an EZ Pass customer service center right here at Pinner's Point. right here, so motorists can come right through the tunnel, come right over here and sign up and walk out with their transponder," said Nora Chivers with  VDOT.

If you can't make it to a retail center, you can buy a transponder online or by phone. It's worth the effort, Chivers says, since the transponder will be the cheapest way to pay for the tunnel tolls.

How much you pay depends on when you drive. On-peak hours are Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The toll rate for on-peak hours is $1.84. All other times will be $1.59.

Frank Fabian is the project manager for the Downtown and Midtown toll system. The toll gantries, the overhead bridge structures that will hold the electronic toll readers, to go up in a few months. This sensory equipment will scan your EZ Pass tag and take a picture of your license plate with high-speed cameras and then bill that vehicle's owner.

"The toll gantries will be just at the Portsmouth portal of the Midtown tunnel and then out of the Downtown tunnel, again on the Portsmouth side, and crossing 264, there will be another set of toll gantries there," Fabian said.

If you don't have an EZ Pass, be prepared to pay the price. A toll recovery fee, which is twice the toll rate, will be assessed in addition to the toll.

That means a $1.59 off-peak drive through the tunnel will actually cost you $4.77. You'll get a bill in the mail after and will have 30 days to appeal or pay. You can dispute the charge by calling or walking into a service center, or by going online.

Once the tolls take effect, you can expect the tunnel alternates will get a little crowded.

"We know people are going to take alternate routes. They're going to sample the alternate routes to see if it's faster for them, if it's less expensive for them and we anticipate that," Shivers says.

Drivers should do the same. The congestion may shift to the High Rise Bridge, the Gilmerton Bridge, and the newly-constructed Jordan Bridge, which is expected to open in June.

To view complete coverage of how the tunnel tolls will affect your travels in Hampton Roads, head over to the Tunnel Tolls Special Coverage Page on WAVY.com.