More lanes, interchanges and automated toll booths.

Those changes are in the works in an effort to keep traffic flowing smoothly on the West Virginia Turnpike, which turns 50 on Sunday.

To ease congestion, an eight-mile stretch of the 88-mile toll road from the North Beckley interchange to the Interstate 64 interchange will be expanded from two lanes in each direction to three.

Greg Barr is general manager of the state Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority. He says right now if one lane is closed for service or repair, it pretty much brings things to a halt.

The authority also wants to install more automated toll booths. The turnpike's EZ Pass, an electronic chip embedded in a vehicle, allows motorists who have paid in advance to pass through the booths without stopping.

In the future, motorists without an electronic account might have to exit a toll plaza, pay and then re-enter the highway.

Barr says as the turnpike evolves, more interchanges will likely be necessary to accommodate industrial parks and tourism destinations.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)