New West Beltway Express lanes scheduled to open Saturday morning

Jacksonville FL — They’re designed to get you home or to work quicker.

The new Express Lanes on the West Beltway from I-95 to the Buckman Bridge are now set to formally open Saturday morning at around 6. Wednesday WOKV was able to get an up-close look at the new lanes that are scheduled to open soon. If you want to use the new lanes, you'll have to enter on the left side of the interstate, and then once you're on, you won't be able to get off until once you exit the lanes.

Once the lanes open, FDOT says there will not be any tolls until 6 in the morning Monday.

“It is a choice to take this road.” Says FDOT Spokesperson Hampton Ray.

If you do make that choice, Ray says you will be charged at least fifty cents, depending on congestion, Monday through Friday from six in the morning until ten and then again in the afternoon from three until seven. There will be signs ahead of the entry points that will let you know when tolls are being enforced. FDOT says this will be the process for tolling drivers for the foreseeable future.

FDOT says there will not be any toll booths for these lanes and the only way you'll be able to use them, without paying for a $25 dollar fine, will be with a SunPass. You can find them at SunPass.com. Although FDOT says some other transponders- including Georgia's Peach Pass and Central Florida's E-PASS- will work as well. Cash and toll-by-plate will not be accepted.