Our History
Not every big idea starts in the garage;
some ideas are born on the road.
United Toll Systems, LLC (UTS) was founded on this challenge: How can an individual connect communities and facilitate personal mobility, when the local and state governments do not have the resources to provide a solution?
The answer is more common today than it was in 1993 when UTS constructed and operated the first private toll road in Alabama, the Emerald Mountain Expressway. A public-private partnership with state and local officials made the tolled expressway possible. The process was not easy – lobbying for legislative changes, addressing environmental concerns, securing right-of-way, and private funding were essential steps to creating a viable mobility solution.
Building the 4.5-mile roadway and 382-foot two-lane toll bridge in only ten months, instead of the estimated 24 months, saved the State of Alabama millions of dollars. Even more difficult was finding a toll management system on the market to provide all of the features and functions required to operate the new toll road. After investigating the existing toll systems and not finding the right solution, UTS began defining and building a new system to meet their specific needs.
UTS didn’t stop with just the Emerald Mountain Expressway, but also followed this same process with the Alabama River Parkway and the Black Warrior Parkway. Building these roadways and bridges within timelines well short of the public process estimates, saved the State of Alabama tens of millions of dollars. After investigating the existing toll management systems on the market to provide all of the features and functions required to operate the new toll roads, and not finding the right solution, UTS began defining and building a new system to meet their specific needs.
Developing Ideas
Investing millions exclusively into tolling solutions, such as:
- Infinity Lane System – Expandable and modular lane system hardware
- IVIS – Reliable vehicle classification
- VES – Exceptional image quality for video tolling or violations processing.
- ORT – Combining IVIS, AVI and VES to create premier open road tolling solution.
- DVAS – Digital Video Auditing System
- OCR/OSR – Fast plate locator
