MONROE, N.C. -- The Monroe Expressway opened Tuesday morning.

• The Charlotte area's first toll road has opened after being in the works for 20 years. 
• It will hopefully ease traffic pains on U.S. Highway 74. 
• Controversial toll lanes are coming soon to I-77. 

The new toll road has been in the works for twenty years, and now it is finally ready for drivers. It is the first toll road in the Charlotte area.

The expressway is 20 miles of road designed to ease some of the traffic on Highway 74

If you have a Quick Pass, you can drive the entire 20 miles of road for $2.54.

Without the Quick Pass that trip is going to cost you around $4, and you will get a bill sent to your house.

Officials say that small toll will be worth it to drivers traveling between Mecklenburg and Union County with the Monroe Expressway getting rid of some traffic, and hopefully, shortening commute times in the area.

"Between Marshville and 485, there are approximately 2 dozen traffic signals that folks have to traverse to make that trek. So this provides folks with an alternative for travel time between and just to give them a choice if they want to avoid that congestion,” said Dennis Jernigan, Director of Highway Operations for the NC Turnpike Authority.

The tolls will stay in effect until the debt from building the expressway is paid off, which is projected to be the mid-2050s.