The first day drivers can use the new express toll lanes on U.S. Highway 69 through Overland Park is Saturday, Feb. 21.
“We’re going to pull the cones up, flip the switch, so to speak,” said Steve Rockers, project director with the Kansas Department of Transportation. “Thank goodness.”
At 8 a.m. on that day, the years-long — and at times headache-inducing — work on the $572 million 69Express project will be mostly complete, nearly a year ahead of the original projection.
Opening the toll lanes on a morning over the weekend was a strategic choice, said Craig Cogan, a project engineer with HNTB.
“It’s intentionally chosen at a time when we don’t expect a lot of traffic in the corridor, so the drivers start to adapt,” he said, “before we hit that first morning rush hour.”
Where are the express toll lanes?
The express toll lanes, when they open later this month as the first of their kind in Kansas, are between 103rd and 151st streets on US-69.
There will be a single toll lane going both north and south on the highway on the innermost (left) lane. There will be two free lanes to the right on both sides of the highway, for drivers who don’t want to use the toll lanes.
Going southbound on 69 Highway, you can enter the express lane at 103rd Street and exit at 135th Street, or stay in the express lane until 151st Street, where the highway returns to its pre-69Express configuration.
Going northbound, you can enter the express lane at 151st Street and exit at Blue Valley Parkway, or exit at 103rd Street, where the northbound express lane ends.
Drivers are only permitted to exit the toll lanes at designated points, marked by a dashed white line. Crossing double white lines to exit the toll lanes at improper points may result in a traffic ticket from the Overland Park Police Department.
“We can’t emphasize that enough,” said Karla Clark, the 69Express operational manager. “We need them to pay attention to those access points.”
69Express tolls range from 35 cents to $1.50
Drivers who use the express lanes on US-69 will be charged a variable toll depending on the time of day and traffic level.
The cost posted on digital signs over the express lanes will show the cost for K-TAG users, who will get a 50% cheaper toll than drivers who don’t have a K-TAG.
At least when the toll lanes first open, the lowest cost toll will be 35 cents (for a K-TAG user using only the one section of express toll lanes), and the highest toll cost will be $1.50 (for a non-K-TAG user using the full length of the express toll lanes).
Reminder: The Kansas Turnpike Authority only sends toll bills via mail, never via text or email. If you receive an alert to pay a toll via text or email, it’s likely a scam. K-TAG users are charged automatically through their DriveKS account.
Looking ahead:
- One final 69Express public meeting is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 11 at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center in Overland Park.
- There isn’t a set agenda, so it will be more of an open house for people to ask questions about the express toll lanes and the last bit of ongoing construction work.
- Additionally, state officials will be there to help people sign up for K-TAGs if they want.
- In the next couple of weeks, and potentially even after the toll lanes are open, drivers could still see crews working on some of the finishing touches for 69Express, like landscaping and clean-up tasks.
Keep reading: Years-long project to add toll lanes to US-69 in Overland Park is nearly done — What drivers can expect
