The Florida Department of Transportation announced a rate increase plan for cars and trucks on most state toll roads starting next year, followed by what could be automatic increases each year after that.
FDOT said the toll plan complies with a mandate the State Legislature passed in 2007 that toll rates must be indexed, which means that after an initial increase is implemented by June 30, annual increases tied to inflation could follow.
The tolling plan does not specify when the first rate increase will take effect next year and said next year's increase will not be tied to inflation. State law allows an option on rasing the toll-rate annually, but mandates rates must be raised at five years to match inflation.
The plan will affect at least 15 tolled roads or road segments in the state, including roadways within the Florida Turnpike system and the portion of Interstate 75 famously known as “Alligator Alley.”
The plan will not affect the express lanes on Interstate 95 nor roads operated by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX), FDOT said.
Each tolled roadway has different rates that depend in part on the entrance and exit a vehicle uses.
By June 30, the toll rate for the 77.7-mile trip east or west across the state and the Everglades via Alligator Alley will cost a five-axle truck with a SunPass $11. Without a SunPass, the cash rate will be $12.
Currently, a five-axle truck with a SunPass pays only $8. Without a pass, the cash rate is $10.
