Maine Turnpike drivers are in for some big changes next month when a new toll structure and a new electronic pass system begin. Tolls will rise at least 10 cents at most tollbooths beginning Feb. 1. They’ll go up by 25 cents at the York, New Gloucester and West Gardiner booths.

It’s the first toll increase in six years, and it’s designed to generate $13.5 million in new revenue, said Dan Paradee, turnpike authority public affairs manager.

“That’s going to be used to pay for some rehab work on the highway and bridges, mostly north of Portland, over the next five years,” he said.

The Maine Turnpike Authority is also set to begin its new E-ZPass system on Feb. 1.

It was scheduled to replace the Maine-only Transpass system in November, but Paradee said the authority opted to delay the switch and do more testing.

The toll increases and the E-ZPass system are not connected, although they are happening at the same time, Paradee said.

“People are signing up for the new toll passes, and they are seeing the toll increases for the first time. So a lot of people are connecting the two in their minds,” he said.

E-ZPass will let Maine subscribers use their cards on turnpikes in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. Subscribers from those states will be allowed to breeze through Maine tollbooths as well.

Maine’s current Transpass system has been operating since September 1997.

Users pay to open an account with the authority, and tolls are deducted each time they drive past the tollbooth. Radio signals at the booth bounce off an electronic receiver as drivers pass.

E-ZPass uses a different frequency. The authority finished installing E-ZPass readers in all Maine tollbooths in November.

The authority is working to get Transpass users switched over, Paradee said.

About one-third of private Transpass users have made the switch already, and the authority is processing about 1,500 E-ZPass applications daily.

“It’s very important for the people who rely on the passes to get their applications in by Jan. 14,” Paradee said. “That’s the only way we can get an E-ZPass to them in time for the launch.”