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State Tolls Rising—Some by 50%

Subprime crisis has officials scrambling to pay for infrastructure

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 28, 2008 7:28 PM CST
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(Newser) – As subprime fallout ripples across the country, several states are planning to increase road, bridge, and tunnel tolls, and not by mere pennies, USA Today reports. The George Washington Bridge, for example—which lets New Jerseyites into the Big Apple—will raise its rush hour price from $5 to $8 for cars, and $35 for trucks. One official defended the move, saying, "People view highways as free, but they're not."

Pending and proposed toll increases include:

  • California's Golden Gate Bridge: set to rise by $1, including a possible $2 exit toll.
  • Indiana Toll Road: will double to $8 in April.
  • New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway: will rise by half every 4 years after 2010.
  • Pennsylvania's Interstate 80: The state is seeking federal permission to charge car drivers $25 and truckers $93.
For more on the toll spikes, click the link below.

Sharp increases on tollways can be anticipated as states reel from the housing and credit crunches.
Sharp increases on tollways can be anticipated as states reel from the housing and credit crunches.   ((c) Elsie esq.)
A toll increase is always political melodrama, said one Port Authority spokesman. The decisions are often avoided until the need is desperate.
"A toll increase is always political melodrama," said one Port Authority spokesman. "The decisions are often avoided until the need is desperate."   ((c) redjar)
A Merrimack, N.H. resident waved a flag at a local Everett Turnpike tollbooth to pay the toll in pennies as part of Merrimack Toll Revolt Day, in Merrimack, N.H. on Monday Aug. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)
A Merrimack, N.H. resident waved a flag at a local Everett Turnpike tollbooth to pay the toll in pennies as part of "Merrimack Toll Revolt Day," in Merrimack, N.H. on Monday Aug. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Cheryl...   (Associated Press)
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NY increase criticized by comptroller
New York Times

SF plans open houses to discuss the Golden Gate toll hike
San Francisco Chronicle

Opinion: Corzine's NJ toll hike plan full of holes
Camden Courier-Post

US

 
California • New Jersey • New York • Pennsylvania • Indiana • toll • highways • Indiana Toll Road

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