Toll Bar

A Toll Bar is a place or structure where a fee (a toll) is collected for passage. Historically and sometimes currently, this can refer to a physical barrier, such as a gate or a pole, that blocks the road until the toll is paid. The term also encompasses the administrative apparatus and location associated with toll collection, even if a physical barrier is not present.

Toll bars were often strategically located on important roadways, bridges, and canals to generate revenue for the road's owners or maintainers. This revenue was then used to fund the upkeep, improvement, and, in some cases, the initial construction of the infrastructure. The amount of the toll typically varied based on the type of vehicle, the distance traveled, or the weight of the cargo being transported.

While the physical toll bar is less common in modern tolling systems, especially with the rise of electronic toll collection (ETC) and open road tolling, the term remains associated with the concept of paying a fee for access to a particular road or facility. The essential function of a toll bar, that is, the collection of payment for passage, continues to exist, even if the method of collection has changed. In some regions, the term "toll plaza" has largely replaced "toll bar" to describe the area where tolls are collected, whether manually or electronically. The term can also be used figuratively to represent any obstacle or cost that must be overcome to achieve a goal.