It’s unlikely anyone will go out of his way to cross the Pell Bridge today, but that doesn’t make it any less special an occasion.

“A new day begins” is how David Darlington, executive director of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, described the launch of E-ZPass.

Beginning at 7 a.m., E-ZPass signs will be uncovered and motorists with transponders can simply pass through in designated lanes — without stopping — and have the toll deducted automatically from their debit accounts.

It will be a moment some Rhode Islanders say should have arrived years ago, as E-ZPass was establishing itself as an efficient and popular toll collection system on highways and bridges across the Northeast.

“Frankly, some of them were a little antsy that we hadn’t moved this way,” Darlington said. But ever since the authority announced E-ZPass was on the way, and after the details were worked out, “we’ve had an overwhelming, positive response.”

Now, said Darlington, after all the hard work the authority staff has put into making E-ZPass a reality, “it feels like the end of a pregnancy.”

About five years ago, people criticized Rhode Island for not joining the E-ZPass system, which stretches from Maine to Virginia. But authority officials said the cost of installing E-ZPass was not cost-effective. Last year, however, the authority announced it would go with E-ZPass at the Pell Bridge partly because of the growing expense of maintaining the aging token system.

Today, one E-ZPass lane will open in each direction on the span that connects Jamestown and Newport. Cash and tokens will still be collected in the other lanes. More lanes will open every few days after that, until five of the six lanes in each direction are equipped to accept E-ZPass (the sixth lane is for oversize loads). Some lanes will be reserved only for E-ZPass holders. The cash lanes will accept E-ZPass, but in January, tokens will be phased out. (For now, tokens may be redeemed for their cash value or applied as credit on E-ZPass accounts.)

Darlington said that authority staff will be standing by at the E-ZPass lanes to help the transition go smoothly. If a driver accidentally winds up in the E-ZPass lane or discovers the transponder isn’t working correctly, “there will be someone there to rescue them” and to “keep traffic moving,” Darlington said.

There are several ways to sign up for E-ZPass. Applications are available in the office adjacent to the toll plaza in Jamestown from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. To subscribe by telephone, call (877) 743-9727 (877-RI-EZPASS). To apply online, go to www.ritba.org.

rsalit@projo.com