Drivers along the 18-mile stretch of Interstate 25 between Monument and Castle Rock can get to their destinations quicker now that state transportation officials have opened new express lanes in each direction of the highway.

The express lanes opened around midnight Friday morning for testing, about three weeks after state and local leaders celebrated the opening of two of the three lanes along the I-25 South Gap — a year ahead of schedule.

“Opening the express lanes early improves safety and travel reliability on the … corridor,” Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Shoshana Lew said in a Wednesday news release. “… Whether commuting to work or traveling the state, drivers will reach their destinations quicker and safer.”

The express lanes span 14 miles on northbound I-25 and 15 miles on southbound I-25. The hope is to maximize the number of drivers using the toll lanes and reduce congestion in all lanes, officials have said.

Tolls are being waived during the testing phase, which officials expect to last through much of 2022, department spokeswoman Tamara Rollison said. During this time, officials will gauge how the lanes operate.

The tolls will go into effect once the testing phase is complete, though it is “too early to tell” when that could be, Rollison said. A state board is supposed to set the rates before the new lanes open, but transportation officials won’t know the final rate until one to two months before the tolls begin to be collected, she said.

“That’s well into 2022,” Rollison said.

Tolls on the I-25 South Gap express lanes could be the lowest in the state and among the cheapest in the country, according to a nearly 500-page traffic and revenue study commissioned by the department’s High-Performance Transportation Enterprise.

In 2017, the study recommended a rate of about 15 cents per mile, or approximately $2.25 per one-way trip. Toll revenues are expected to cover the cost of operating and maintaining the lanes, the project website states.

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The tolls have been a sore point with some local residents and officials, who objected to what they claimed amounted to double taxation, since local taxes helped fund the $419 million project.

Most of the construction is complete, but crews are still doing final work including installing the tolling infrastructure system and final paving, Rollison said. That work will take place beginning in the spring through next fall, she said.

When using the express lanes, drivers should not cross the solid white lines and should enter and exit only in designated areas, defined by a white dotted line. The express lanes cannot be used as passing lanes, officials said.

Colorado State Patrol will also increase enforcement along the project’s entire 18-mile stretch beginning Friday, according to the release.