Prepare to slow down when going through E-ZPass in Hooksett

You’ll soon have to slow down and go through the gates at Hooksett tolls just like the old days, because the two-high speed lanes for the Open Road Toll system will be shut for two months as it is upgraded. 

The work, similar to what was done at the Hampton tolls from October through December, is happening because the system at Hooksett was installed in 2013 “and is nearing its life expectancy,” the Department of Transportation said in a press release.

The anticipated start date is Tuesday, April 1, and with an anticipated reopening before Memorial Day. All traffic will be directed through the traditional cash and E-ZPass lanes within the barrier plaza, which have a 25 mph speed limit. 

The Open Road tolling system uses sensors, cameras and specialized software to record license plate numbers of cars driving through without having to slow down. It connects that information with E-ZPass accounts or driver information for billing. The new system will be built by the current manufacturer and will look and act the same from the point of view of drivers, the transportation department said.

New Hampshire has had tolls since 1950, when they were installed on I-95 in Hampton. Open-road tolling was first installed in the state in 2010.

The work comes as New Hampshire is changing more of its toll systems to electronic rather than manual. Last year the Executive Council voted 3-2 to make the Bedford toll plaza on the Everett Turnpike all electronic, which was previously done on the Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester.