All tolls on highways across the entire state had been suspended on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 by the Florida Department of Transportation for the purpose of easier evacuation and preparation — and the tolls remained suspended for the entire duration of the effects of Hurricane Irma, which left many areas of the state without power; flooded; or with damage to buildings, infrastructure and flora…
Highway Tolls Once Again In Effect In Most of Florida
…but as of 12:01 earlier this morning, Thursday, September 21, 2017, the tolls have been once again reinstated on most of the highways and bridges throughout the state — with the exception of the Homestead extension of Florida’s Turnpike south of the interchange with State Road 874 — from mile marker 0 to mile marker 17 — will remain suspended to assist Monroe County residents with recovery efforts, according to this article written by Kristen M. Clark for the Miami Herald.
The reinstatement of tolls for highways and bridges would be a good sign that the state of Florida is on its way in recovering from the effects of Hurricane Irma; but approximately 17,000 customers are still without power at this time. The most battered areas of the state will remain without power until Friday, September 22, 2017, according to this map by the Florida Power & Light Company. At least one city has fined the utility company for not fulfilling its promise of completely restoring electricity to city residents.
“Between Monday and Wednesday, the city fined the utility $64,500 and says it will keep assessing the fines until all power is restored”, according to this article written by Monique O. Madan for the Miami Herald. “As of 5:50 p.m. Wednesday, FPL said 380 customers were without power in Miami-Dade. It does not show data for individual cities.”
Summary
The reinstatement of tolls may signal better times ahead for residents and business of Florida which endured the wrath of Hurricane Irma — but it also means that some highways and bridges now cost extra money to use them again. That could be a bit of bad news for evacuees who want to return home but have not yet done so.
Electronic tolls have been increasingly pervading the state of Florida — such as on Florida’s Turnpike as a major example — and the costs have been especially prohibitive for some people who rent cars and use roads, highways, bridges and tunnels which use electronic tolling to collect funds.
Articles at The Gate pertaining to the topic of electronic tolls include:
- Hertz Sued by San Francisco Over Fees For Electronic Tolls
- Are Fees Out of Control for Electronic Tolls Using Rental Cars?
- The Pain of Electronic Tolls is Felt by More and More FlyerTalk Members
- Electronic Tolls in South Africa: Economic Apartheid?
- Are Rental Car Companies Taking an Electronic Toll On You — Literally?
- $17,000 Fine For $36 in Unpaid Electronic Tolls?
- Electronic Tolls and Rental Car Companies: Outrageous Gouging?
- Not Paying a Toll Can Take a Toll — On You
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
