More motorists are using the new 10-mile Poinciana Parkway than anticipated, officials say, just as tolls recently bumped up at one location to at least $2.

  • Poinciana Parkway is less than a year old
  • Tolls at one spot have been raised to at least $2
  • Official says road is getting more traffic than projected

Tolls at the bridge north of Marigold Avenue recently raised by a quarter to $2 for those with an E-Pass, $2.20 with pay-by-plate.

It's a price some say is too much.

“A dollar would be all right. But why are you going to raise it to $2 for the short distance that it is?” said Victor Valentin a Poinciana truck driver.

Mohammed Rocky, another truck driver, said despite the increase, it's an investment well worth it.

“You have a doctor appointment at 9 o’clock, you better leave here about two hours before,” is the way describes Rocky described traffic in Poinciana. He said there’s been some relief since Poinciana Parkway opened up.

While the toll at Marigold is going up, the toll at Koa Street for the southern section will stay at 50 cents.

The money from the tolls is being used for maintenance and to pay back the bonds. A $70 million loan was taken out on a 10-mile road that cost about $140 million.

“The way we tweaked the rates in order to get financing was, we will introduce it as $1.75, people will get used to the road, and then we’ll make the road $2," said Atlee Mercer, the chairman for Osceola County Expressway Authority. "Then they did their math and decided that would work. And they loaned us the $70 million.”

On average, about 8,000 drivers use Poinciana Parkway daily, surpassing its original projection of 6,000, officials said.