The Indiana Turnpike provides a connecting straight shot road from Ohio to Chicago at a reasonably low cost. Tolls for the whole route used to be just $4.65, but have risen to $8 for cash-pay drivers of cars. Semi-truck rates are significantly higher, now $27.25 for the entire stretch. Over 50,000 vehicles daily use the most popular segments of the Turnpike.
There are 21 entrance and exit ramps along the Indiana Toll Road covering all seven northern Indiana counties. At Getizoom.com, Indiana's homepage for toll road information you can view a list and map of each of these ramps. The road is open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, with occasional lane closures for maintenance projects. Mile markers begin at the west end of the toll road with 0 and continue to mile 157 at the Ohio border. A blessing for drivers, the exit numbers and rest area numbers correspond with the mile marker numbers, so exit 21 is found 21 miles from the Illinois border along the route.
The toll road also has ten "travel plazas" available for food, snacks, gas and restrooms. These are split as five eastbound and five westbound rest areas. Additionally, visitor information can be found in the travel plazas located at mile 56 eastbound and mile 126 westbound.
Indiana is promoting open-road tolling, as are its neighboring states. The I-zoom pass affixes to your cars front windshield and receives an electronic signal from sensors located at the tollbooths. As an incentive to get motorists to purchase I-zoom passes, the toll rates for I-zoom users are lower than those for drivers paying cash. Nearby states' I-pass and E-Z pass users are able to participate in Indiana's system without having to purchase a second device.
The politics behind privatizing the maintenance of the road are a hot topic for drivers and Indiana residents near the turnpike. The rate increase so far doesn't reflect a lot of practical improvements such as updated travel plazas. Small improvements like patching rough pavement are being completed each season. Indiana is the only state so far to have privatized the ownership of their road; states like Texas are considering the option to generate more revenue for additional projects.
