Lockheed Martin Toll Collection Contract Swells

Lockheed Martin IMS has won a $24 million contract to expand its existing electronic toll collection program throughout Maryland.

The Maryland program, named M-Tag, will be expanded to include additional toll facilities and serve a broader segment of drivers, said Washington-based IMS Dec.15.

IMS, a division of Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., also will integrate M-Tag with a similar program, E-ZPass, which provides electronic toll services to drivers using bridges and tunnels in the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

The integration will make it possible for drivers who belong to one electronic toll collection program to automatically participate in the other, IMS officials said.

Electronic toll systems allow a driver to establish a prepaid account and mount a transponder on the inside of a vehicle's windshield. The device is read automatically when the vehicle passes through specially equipped toll booths.

In Maryland, IMS will broaden its service to include three additional bridges, including the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge that crosses the Chesapeake Bay.
IMS already provides electronic toll services to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The Maryland program is available only to commuters, but will be expanded to include drivers who don't use the system daily. The number of transponders used in Maryland is expected to increase from 70,000 to 170,000, IMS said.

Work will begin on the program in January, IMS said. E-ZPass reciprocity and expanded M-Tag availability will be operational by Dec. 31, 2001.

IMS' Transportation Systems and Services division provides electronic toll collection services in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.