What's Changing on I-25 North: A Mead Commuter's Guide
Tolling just started, the work zone has active speed cameras, and your morning drive is a little different this month. Here's what's actually new on the stretch of I-25 that most of Mead uses.
By Laura Owen
I-25 Is the Road That Runs Mead's Week
For almost everyone in Mead, I-25 isn't a highway you use occasionally — it's the main artery. It's how we get to Fort Collins for a specialist appointment, to Longmont for the grocery store, to Loveland for the airport run, and to Denver when family flies in. So when something changes on I-25, it changes the rhythm of the week around here.
Two things shifted in April 2026. Tolling started on a long stretch of express lanes north of Berthoud. And the construction zone between Mead and Berthoud — the one most of us drive through every day — now has automated speed cameras issuing real fines. Neither of those changes is enormous on its own, but together they meaningfully change what your morning drive looks like.
Tolling Is Now Live From Berthoud to Fort Collins
On April 7, 2026, the Colorado Department of Transportation turned on tolling in the 14-mile Express Lane segment that runs from Berthoud up to Fort Collins. These are the left-most lanes, separated from the general-purpose lanes by a painted buffer and, in places, a dashed white line that marks where you're allowed to merge in or out. Drive over the solid white lines between entry points and — after a short warning window — you're looking at a $75 fine.
The 14 miles are divided into three segments, and the toll is calculated per segment based on time of day and direction. Per CDOT's published rate structure, drivers with an ExpressToll transponder pay roughly $1 to $4.75 per segment. A full one-way trip across all three segments runs as low as around $3 in the middle of the night and as high as about $12.20 during evening peak.
ExpressToll vs. License Plate Billing
The gap between the two payment methods matters. If you have a transponder linked to an ExpressToll account, the segment rates above apply. If you don't — meaning the toll gets captured by your license plate and billed to you later — you pay roughly 40% more, and a single segment can climb to nearly $10. That's the system CDOT has in place to encourage transponder adoption.
There's also a free option if three or more people are in the vehicle: a switchable HOV3+ transponder. You flip it to the carpool setting when you have three adults on board and the lane is free to use. For Mead families heading to DIA together or driving north for a weekend trip with another household, it's worth knowing about.
If you drive I-25 north more than a handful of times a month, it's probably worth setting up an ExpressToll account. The price gap adds up quickly, and it makes the lane a usable tool instead of a surprise on your next mail bill.
The Mead-to-Berthoud Stretch Is Still a Construction Zone
South of Berthoud — the part of I-25 that Mead drivers deal with the most — construction is still very much in progress. This is the project that started in May 2024 and is expected to run through 2028. When it's finished, it will add an Express Lane in each direction from CO 66 in Mead to just south of CO 56 in Berthoud, closing a long-standing gap in three-lane coverage between Denver and Fort Collins.
In the meantime, that six-mile segment is a shifting work zone. Lane configurations change. The shoulder narrows in places. Bridges are being rebuilt one at a time. If you've noticed the commute taking a little longer this spring, that's why.
Speed Cameras Are Now Issuing Real Fines
The other change most Mead residents have felt is the automated speed enforcement through this work zone. CDOT installed cameras between Mead and Berthoud in late January 2026. Warning letters went out starting March 1, and civil penalties — a flat $75 for going 10 mph or more over the posted 65 mph work-zone limit — began April 2.
According to CDOT, the warning period produced more than 28,000 notices and cut speeding in the corridor by roughly 90%. That's a real behavior change. If you drive this stretch regularly, the takeaway is simple: 65 means 65 through the cones, and the cameras don't care whether it's 2 p.m. or 2 a.m.
What This All Means for a Mead Weekday
For most of us, the practical picture looks something like this:
From Mead heading south (to Longmont, Boulder, Denver, DIA): Nothing has changed structurally yet. You're in the same general-purpose lanes. Construction near CO 66 continues through 2028.
From Mead heading north through the work zone (toward Berthoud, Loveland, Fort Collins): Drive the posted 65 mph limit. Cameras are active and tickets are real.
Once you pass Berthoud heading north: You now have a tolled Express Lane option. Use it if you're running late, avoid it on a Saturday errand run where five extra minutes doesn't matter.
Three or more in the car: The HOV3+ transponder makes the Express Lane free. Worth it for DIA runs, family trips, or carpools.
The Honest Trade-Off
There's no way around it: I-25 north is going to be a little harder and a little more expensive to drive through 2028. The finished product — continuous three-lane coverage from Denver to Fort Collins in both directions, with one of those lanes managed by toll to keep it moving — is something most of us will probably appreciate once it's done. Getting there means living with construction, narrower shoulders, cameras, and a new payment decision every time you merge north of Berthoud.
The good news for Mead specifically is that our exit at CO 66 is on the south end of the active work. And once the Mead-to-Berthoud segment wraps up, the Express Lane network will actually reach us — meaning the option to pay for a faster lane will exist from Mead itself, not just from Berthoud north. That's still a couple of years out, but it's the direction things are headed.
Until then: get the transponder if you use the lane, watch your speed through the cones, and build a few extra minutes into the schedule.