Delays bypassing 168 toll road??? (credit card, how much, purchase)

[veesmack323]

How much longer does it take if I bypassed the 168 toll road going from VA to NC (Battlefield Ave). I will probably be driving through the highway at 6ish in the morning. Are we talkin 5 minutes or 20 minutes extra???

[Ebediel]

Originally Posted by veesmack323

I will probably be driving through the highway at 6ish in the morning. Are we talkin 5 minutes or 20 minutes extra???

We're talking no more than five minutes maybe less. The expressway doesn't really save that much time it's just that VA is capitalizing on the fact that only locals know how to get around it. The "back way" is only single lanes north and south so if there's an accident or something it could take much longer but you could always go back and take the expressway that day. Many of the people who live here in Moyock have the .50 cent ezpass and that cuts the overall cost.

I don't go through there unless saving 5 minutes is really important to me. I've probably taken the expressway half a dozen times since it has opened. I go to the hospital in Chesapeake and Norfolk a lot and so on occasion the 5 minutes really matters but then it costs me $2. At 6am traffic won't be terrible but you definitely won't be the only one on the road either. Most of the time the "back way" will be adequate.

[veesmack323]

Im kinda confused on the EZ Pass. It says something about a $35 minimum monthly....If I dont use $35 dollars worth of tolls in a month, do I still have to pay that amount anyways? If I do decide to use the expressway, it will only be 3-4 times a week.

[Ebediel]

I asked one of the ladies at our Church that has a Smart Tag and she said that they charge you the $25 deposit and then you have to purchase the first $35 worth of passes. When your account gets to the $10 minimum balance you then have to purchase at least $25 worth of passes to bring you back to the $35 original balance. If you do not give them a credit card number then they notify you when you reach the minimum balance and you have to increase it. According to her there is no minimum amount that the pass has to be used and you only have to purchase more when you reach the minimum balance. There is no minimum amount of times that it must be used.