Before E-ZPass: The Fascinating History of U.S. Toll Roads

America’s highways didn’t build themselves. As car ownership swelled, the motorcar gave us newfound freedom to travel to anywhere whenever we wanted. States quickly recognized that to move people and commerce, they had to replace unpaved roads that were crumbling under the weight and speed of motor vehicles with modern roads and highways.

I live in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, home of the first U.S. turnpike. I traveled the PA Turnpike, which now holds the dubious distinction of being the most expensive toll road in the world, for 25 years. When the PA Turnpike opened in 1940, it was designed to move commercial traffic, up to 10,000 vehicles a day. Today, even with pricey tolls, the PA Turnpike has morphed into a daily 550,000 vehicle commuter highway, similar to non-toll interstates, like I-95 or I-80.

Read along as a historian and civil engineering expert explain everything from those early turnpikes to today’s electronic tolling, how and why they were built and paid for, and the value of maintaining our most important roads.

The 1900s Car Boom That Changed America

At the beginning of the century, the automobile was a toy for the rich. However, Henry Ford’s revolutionary mass production process lowered costs, giving the middle-class and working-class the opportunity to own their own cars. By the 1920s, the automobile had a tremendous influence on our economy, society and culture.

The convenience of owning an automobile meant you no longer had to live near where you worked. Gasoline-powered trucks and tractors replaced horses. Farmers could now easily grow and economically transport greater amounts of goods. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that during the mid‑20th century, roughly one in six American jobs depended on the automobile industry.

Need For Better Highway

With faster and heavier cars being sold, makeshift local roads made safe driving a challenge. “Mass-marketed automobiles outpaced existing dirt road networks, creating an infrastructure crisis,” said Ali Mujtuba Zaidi infrastructure and logistics historian. Long-distance travel was slow, hazardous, and unpredictable. While rain turned roads into mud holes, dust clouds made driving dangerous.

Though the original Good Roads Movement is long gone, they campaigned along with the American Automobile Association (AAA) to improve rural and national roads, which led to the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916. The Road Act provided matching funds to states for road improvements and established that state highway departments’ coordinated road standards. Zaidi added, “Durable, paved highways became essential for commerce, safety, and the growing number of Americans traveling by car.”

When Did Tolls Start?

In the 1700s, private companies built “turnpikes” and charged travelers to use them. According to Zaidi, “The earliest formalized U.S. toll roads emerged in the late 1790s, highlighted by the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike in 1795, which used a spiked gate (or pike) that only let a traveler pass after they paid their fee.” Long before federal highway funding existed, states began building modern toll roads, the major expressways we are familiar with today, in the 1930s.

“Tolls roads offered smoother, faster, and safer routes, while producing revenue to fund other highway construction projects and maintenance,” said Zaidi. However, opened in 1940, the Pennsylvania Turnpike was constructed using “New Deal” funding to help stimulate the economy. Moreover, built to the latest engineering standards, it became the nation’s first superhighway and proof of concept model for what would become the Interstate Highway System.

Federal Interstate System

“The 1956 Federal Aid Highway Act injected massive federal funding via gas taxes, explicitly favoring freeways and forcing a structural shift where traditional toll gates were largely banned on new interstate routes to maintain high-velocity regional transit,” said Zaidi. The Federal Interstate System standardized road design, improved safety, and connected the entire country.

“Many existing roads and highways were integrated into the Federal Interstate System, while state roads that remained independent continued charging tolls,” said Zaidi. Although touted as a means for economic growth, hastening suburban expansion and growing tourism and travel, President Eisenhower advocated for the Federal Interstate System to bolster national defenses.

How Modern Tolls Work

“Modern open-road systems use overhead gantry sensors and transponders like E-ZPass to shift tolling from a physical stop-and-go bottleneck to a friction-free, fully digital transaction,” said Zaidi. Revenue generated by tolls goes toward maintenance and repairs, debt repayment, and upgrades to roads not funded by federal gas taxes.

Although not federally mandated, in the 90s, the Federal Highway Administration pushed states toward all‑electronic tolling to help lower tailpipe emissions (smog), increase safety, and help reduce operating costs. Under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program, this meant states could use federal highway funds to remove toll gates or toll plazas and install E‑ZPass or other electronic tolling systems. Today, virtually every major toll road has joined the E‑ZPass network.

The Future of Toll Roads in America

The U.S. is facing a double-edged sword: declining gas tax revenue and an aging infrastructure. To produce stable funding sources, many states are investigating expanding tolls to maintain and modernize highways without raising taxes. Zaidi explained, “We are transitioning away from flat-fees toward dynamic, data-driven tolling, where algorithms automatically adjust pricing in real-time based on traffic density to mathematically prevent gridlock on high-demand roadways.”

FAQ

Why do some highways still charge tolls if gas taxes exist?

Zaidi put it bluntly, “Gas taxes are structurally broken; they have not been adjusted for inflation in over 30 years, reducing its buying power by more than 40 percent and failing to cover maintenance or replacement of aging bridges. “The Highway Trust Fund [the federal agency that funds highways, bridges, and transit] has been in annual deficits since 2006,” said Arif Gasilov, Partner at Gasilov Group, a consultant on energy economics. “Tolls persist because gas taxes, no longer cover the cost of maintaining roads.”

Do electric vehicles (EV) affect toll road funding?

Yes. As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases, “traditional infrastructure funding decreases because EVs completely bypass the fuel pumps,” cutting highway funds that depend directly on gas tax revenue. “41 states have now created their own EV registration fees,” said Gasilov. However, although EVs are a small and growing factor, they’re impact on toll road funding is insignificant.

Are tolls even legal?

Yes. According to LegalClarity.org, “courts have consistently held that a toll is a user fee, not a tax” and both federal and state law have specifically authorized them.

Experts

Arif Gasilov is a Partner at Gasilov Group, a US-based sustainability and ESG consultancy. He has been quoted in Reuters, Forbes, US News, POWER Magazine, ConsumerAffairs, and other outlets on energy economics and sustainability topics. He holds a LEED Certification and has published in OGEL Energy Law Journal on utility law. (Electronic communications May 26, 2026)

Ali Mujtuba Zaidi is a Civil Engineering scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia and chief editor of The Historical Insights, an independent research publication tracking forgotten logistics, ancient infrastructure, and the historical engineering frameworks that shape modern networks. (Electronic communications May 26, 2026)

Resources

ENO Center for Transportation: “Toll-Roads-and-Free-Roads” May 25, 2026

GovFacts: Are Toll Roads Fair? “The Growing Debate Over Pay-to-Drive America” Dec 5, 2025

History Link: “President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Aid Road Act on July 11, 1916.” May 25, 2026

International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association: “Autonomous Vehicles Are Coming. Without Road Pricing, Gridlock Could Follow.”

International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association: “Infrastructure Is The Investment That Pays Off” Dec 22, 2025

LegalClarity: “How Are Toll Roads Legal? Federal Law and State Authority” Apr 4, 2026

San José State University, Mineta Transportation Institute: “Tolls for Transit The Legal Case and Real-World Payoff” May 5, 2025

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission: “What are some interesting facts about the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s history?” May 26, 2026

U.S. Dept. of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): “Air Quality” May 25, 2026

U.S. Dept. of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): “Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program” Sep 10, 2025

U.S. Dept. of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): “Thomas H. MacDonald on Toll Roads” May 25, 2026

Thefreelibrary.com: “Shifting gears: with Detroit’s ‘Big Three’ carmakers struggling, what are the prospects for the U.S. auto industry and its workers?

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