MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — The toll-free days along the newest stretch of the First Coast Expressway are coming to an end.

Tolls will start Monday from Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg to US-17 in Green Cove Springs.

Now, drivers will have to decide if the convenience is worth the price — with an eye on just how far this thing will stretch when it’s done.

“I’ve honestly noticed a lot more traffic in general,” said Cosmic Smoke Shop Cashier Snow.

Snow says it’s been a busy month at the Cosmic Smoke Shop on Blanding Boulevard.

She doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s coincided with the nearby First Coast Expressway opening a new chunk that runs down to Green Cove Springs.

“We have lots of people come in from all over the place,” Snow said. “A lot of people work all over Florida and they take that expressway all the time, so it helps for them.”

Those drivers will have to start paying come Monday.

After a month long grace period, the license plate readers will turn on along the new stretch.

“Our primary goal was to open the roadway as quickly as possible, so we did open it while it was still technically under construction,” Florida Department of Transportation Spokesperson Hampton Ray said. “Now, the toll systems are fully optimized to collect tolling.”

Those tolls vary by segment, but start at $.65.

Ray says he expects the new chunk to see more and more usage as drivers get used to it, and, in turn, bring some relief to drivers on the roads that feed it.

“We have seen a significant improvement on arterial roads, which are the local roadways that include US 17 and Blanding Boulevard,” Ray said. 

The new piece includes a bridge over Black Creek, and FDOT is working on a much larger bridge to one day replace the Shands and cross over the St. Johns River into St. Johns County, eventually connecting the toll road from I-95 in St. Johns County to I-10 in Jacksonville.

That’s all a few years down the line, with a completion date in 2030. First things first — Snow will have to decide if she’s willing to pay the toll to get down to Green Cove Springs.

“Oh most definitely. I hate traffic,” Snow said. “I’m definitely going to pay the toll, I don’t care. I can’t sit in it.”

If Snow is going to pay the toll, FDOT recommends using SunPass, which saves most drivers $.27 cents for most tolls compared to pay-by-plate.