Tolling on C-470 express lanes in Colorado begins

Motorists using C-470 in Colorado will have to pay up to use new express lanes, with truckers spending significantly more in toll rates.

Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 18, Colorado will collect tolls on the C-470 Express Lanes between Wadsworth Boulevard and Interstate 25. Toll rates for passenger vehicles with an ExpressToll pass range from 65 cents to $3.60. However, truckers will be tolled a much higher rate.

According to the C-470 Express Lane toll rate chart, vehicles with four or more axles will pay a $25 surcharge per zone. If a trucker were to use the express lanes throughout the entire length going westbound, that adds up to $75 more in tolls, ExpressToll verified to Land Line.

Motorcycles can use express lanes for free. No HOV discount is available.

The C-470 express lanes are optional and are available 24 hours a day. Motorists can still use the general-purpose lanes for free. According to CDOT, the express lanes offer a faster and more reliable travel time. However, those lanes also will help improve travel times in the general-purpose lanes.

Tolls on the C-470 express lanes are cheaper with the ExpressToll pass. Without the pass, motorists will pay at a rate as much as 309% higher than that with an ExpressToll pass.

Toll prices vary by time of day. The cheapest rates going westbound are from 6 a.m. through 3 p.m. Going eastbound, tolls on C-470 express lanes cost less from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. but cost the most during the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. morning rush hour. The most expensive rate going westbound is the 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. afternoon rush hour.

Spanning 12.5 miles, the C-470 Express Lane project cost $276 million. Nearly $111 million comes from state and federal funding. Another $10 million comes from Douglas County. Loans that will be paid by toll revenues make up the rest of the funding. In addition to paying off financial debit, toll revenue will go toward highway maintenance and administrative costs of operating the express lanes.

ExpressToll passes can be acquired at ExpressToll.com.