Electronic tolling and traffic management equipment on the 91 Express Lanes in Orange County will soon see an upgrade, though drivers probably won’t notice a difference.

The change is a result of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s recent decision to hire a new firm to design, install, run and maintain its existing 91 and future 405 express lanes in the county. Virginia-based Kapsch TrafficCom USA won the 10-year contract for $42.3 million – $10 million lower than the other qualified bidder, according to OCTA.

The current technology on the 91 Express Lanes was put in place in 2004 and updated in 2010, but is nearing the end of its lifespan, OCTA spokesman Eric Carpenter said. There are two tolled lanes for 10 miles in each direction at the median of the 91 between the 55 and the Riverside County border.

“The technology being implemented for the 91 Express Lanes … is an updated version of the equipment already in place along the 91 Express Lanes, including lasers, antennas, and plate readers,” he said. “It will be a seamless transition for users of the 91 Express Lanes.”

The same technology will be used for the 405 Express Lanes, which will be part of the I-405 improvement project that began in January and is expected to open in 2023. The express lanes will consist of two lanes in each direction at the center of the freeway between Costa Mesa and the Los Angeles County border.

OCTA estimates that drivers on the 405 Express Lanes will be able to travel that 16-mile stretch in about half the time they would on regular lanes.

Toll prices for driving full length on the 91 Express Lanes range from $1.50 to $10.15 depending on traffic congestion. The lanes are usually free for vehicles with three or more people other than weeknights between 4 and 6 p.m. in the eastbound direction.

Estimated toll prices for the 405 Express Lanes — they won’t be finalized until closer to the opening — range from $2.13 to $9.99 based on the time of day and direction of travel, according to OCTA.

Kapsch’s proposed automatic vehicle detection system — which uses overhead lasers, transponder antennas and cameras — tracks all vehicles entering the toll zone until they leave, according to the staff report. The company will provide 24/7 monitoring of the express lanes and notify the technician of any equipment failure.

“In rare cases now, some images of license plates on cars that travel through the gantry can be blurry and difficult to detect,” Carpenter said. “The new technology is expected to cut down on those instances.”

OCTA may also consider adding technology such as monitors that detect the number of people in the vehicle, he said.

Kapsch will begin replacing the existing equipment on the 91 Express Lanes after the contracts are finalized. The company also will work with the designer and builder of the 405 improvement project to plan installing tolling equipment for the 405 Express Lanes.

Sirit Corporation, which later became 3M Company, originally installed and ran the 91 Express Lanes system. But 3M in 2016 notified OCTA that the company no longer intended to provide the service, according to an OCTA staff report. The transportation agency contracted with Confiroute USA in the interim.