photo by: Colorado Department of Transportation

An express lane is pictured in this video screenshot from the Colorado Department of Transportation. The Kansas Department of Transportation opened express lanes on a six-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 69 in Overland Park — the first of their kind in the state.

The state of Kansas has opened up its first express lanes to traffic as part of the U.S. 69 Corridor Modernization and Expansion Project.

The express lanes, known as the 69Express, were officially opened to traffic Saturday morning at 8 a.m. in Overland Park. The express lanes were constructed as part of a project that reconstructed the highway between 103rd and 151st streets that widened the highway and added one northbound and one southbound express lane.

The express lanes will have tolls that “vary based on traffic levels and time of day” to ensure that the express lane would be congestion free, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Drivers will be able to enter or exit the express lanes at three specific points: 103rd Street, Blue Valley Parkway and 151st Street. Signs at the three entry points would display the current toll rate to the driver’s destination. Those displayed rates would apply to drivers who have a KTAG, and KDOT said the toll is “expected to range from a baseline of $0.35 during low-traffic periods to approximately $1.50 during peak congestion.” People who don’t have a KTAG would pay higher rates if they chose to use the express lanes.

Express lanes will be separated from the general-purpose lanes by a 4-foot-wide buffer marked with solid white lines. Drivers should only enter or exit the express lanes at the designated points, which will be “marked with dashed white lines,” according to KDOT. While the Kansas Turnpike Authority will be the tolling partner for 69Express, Overland Park Police will still provide traffic enforcement on the six-mile stretch of road.

KDOT encourages drivers to visit DriveKS.com, Kansas’ toll payment system, to set up their accounts and order a free KTAG for use on 69Express and all other Kansas toll facilities.