Man Claims He Was Charged For Using I-70 Toll Lane When He Didn't Use It
DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Transportation is celebrating its successful launch of the new Interstate 70 express lane, but CBS4 heard from at least one driver who had some problems. He says he was charged even though he didn't use the toll lane.
CBS4 has been told there isn't a problem with the system that detects vehicles and their transponders inside the toll lane. But not everyone has the new transponders that CDOT is encouraging people to get. That could be one reason for a bogus charge.
The new peak period shoulder lane has been up and running for almost a month and state officials say it's working.
CDOT says 52,515 vehicles drove the mountain corridor on Jan. 2, I-70's second highest traffic count ever. But there were no major backups or afternoon-long lines of traffic.
Jim Bowen was coming back to Denver from Winter Park last month.
"I saw the toll was on, it was $3, there was nobody in the toll lane including me," Bowen said. "End of story until I got the bill."
Bowen contacted Express Toll and CDOT about the charge.
"They were having some issues, it was a known problem. It's due to the closeness of the toll lane to the adjoining lanes," he said.
CDOT told CBS4 the system is working properly and believes it was an isolated case.
"The bigger problem is that they have no proof I was in that toll lane, I have no proof I wasn't in that toll lane … and so it's a he-said-she-said," Bowen said.
CDOT said they're working on changing the signs because there are people who enter the toll lane in Idaho Springs near the Twin Tunnels.