<P> The turnpike had no enforced speed limit when it opened except for the tunnels, which had a 35 - mile - per - hour (55 km / h) speed limit . Some drivers traveled as fast as 90 mph (145 km / h) on the road . In 1941, speed limits of 70 mph (115 km / h) for cars and 50--65 mph (80--105 km / h) for trucks were enacted . During World War II, the turnpike adopted the national speed limit of 35 mph (55 km / h); after the war, the limit returned to 70 mph (115 km / h). </P> <P> In 1953, the speed limit on the portion of the highway between the Ohio border and Breezewood was lowered to 60 mph (95 km / h) to reduce the number of accidents, but returned to 70 mph (115 km / h) when the measure proved ineffective . The limit on the turnpike was reduced to 65 mph (105 km / h) in 1956 for cars, buses and motorcycles, with other vehicles limited to 50 mph (80 km / h). A minimum speed of 35 mph (55 km / h) was established in 1959; it was raised to 40 mph (65 km / h) in 1965 . </P> <P> With the passage of the 1974 National Maximum Speed Law, the speed limit on the turnpike was reduced to 55 mph (90 km / h). It was again raised to 65 mph (105 km / h) in 1995, except for urban areas with a population greater than 50,000; the latter retained the 55 mph (90 km / h) speed limit . In 2005, the turnpike commission approved raising the speed limit to 65 mph (105 km / h) for the entire length of the turnpike (except the tunnels, mainline toll plazas and the winding portion near the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, which retained the 55 mph (90 km / h) limit). In 2014, the speed limit on a portion of the turnpike was restored at 70 mph (115 km / h). On July 22, 2014, the speed limit increased to 70 mph (115 km / h) between the Blue Mountain and Morgantown interchanges . On March 15, 2016, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved raising the speed limit on the remainder of the turnpike to 70 mph (115 km / h), excluding sections that are posted with a 55 mph (90 km / h) speed limit . On May 3, 2016, the speed limit increased to 70 mph (115 km / h) on the 65 mph (105 km / h) sections of the toll road . The speed limit remains 55 mph (90 km / h) at construction zones, the tunnels, mainline toll plazas, the winding portion near the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, and the section between Bensalem and the Delaware River Bridge . </P> <P> The Pennsylvania Turnpike uses the ticket system of tolling between the Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls toll plazas, as well as on the Northeast Extension to Wyoming Valley . When entering the turnpike, motorists receive a ticket listing the toll for each exit; the ticket is surrendered when exiting, and the applicable toll is paid . If the ticket is lost, motorists are charged the maximum toll for that exit . Cash, credit cards, and E-ZPass are accepted at traditional toll plazas . An eastbound mainline toll plaza is located at Gateway near the Ohio border, charging a flat toll using cash or E-ZPass, and an all - electronic westbound mainline toll gantry is located at the Delaware River Bridge near the New Jersey border, charging a flat toll using TOLL BY PLATE (which uses automatic license plate recognition to take a photo of the vehicle's license plate and mail a bill to the vehicle owner) or E-ZPass at highway speeds . There is no toll between Gateway and Warrendale and between Neshaminy Falls and the Delaware River Bridge . The PA 29 interchange and the westbound Virginia Drive and eastbound Street Road interchanges only accept E-ZPass . </P>

When was the pa turnpike northeast extension built