The Pennsylvania Turnpike is facing a possible strike by its toll collectors, and preparations are under way to keep the toll road open should the strike occur.

In a statement issued earlier this week, Turnpike officials said that in the event of a strike, passenger vehicles will pay a flat toll of $2, and trucks will pay a flat toll of $15, regardless of the distance they travel on the road. E-ZPass customers whose fares would normally be less than those amounts will pay the smaller of the two charges.

Turnpike officials said talks with the Teamsters union – which represents the toll takers and maintenance workers – broke down Monday after five hours of discussions. The Teamsters informed state officials that the union would reserve the right to call a strike at any time after that point without notice.

The strike could include roughly 2,000 workers, including toll collectors and maintenance workers. Their contract expired Sept. 30, 2003, but union workers have worked under its terms while negotiations continued.

Joseph Brimmeier, CEO of the Turnpike, said the agency is ready to run the road should a strike occur. Non-union employees are on standby.

“The Pennsylvania Turnpike is prepared for a work stoppage if it comes to that,” Brimmeier said in a statement. “Our first priority is to keep the 531-mile long highway system open to the public.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that union workers could walk off the job as soon as 3:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 28, after picking up their paychecks. If they do, the newspaper said, it would be the first such action since the turnpike opened in 1940.