By Dan Murphy
Under former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Tappan Zee Bridge was replaced over a five year period, (2013-2018), with the Mario Cuomo Bridge. At the time, it was the single largest bridge project in NY history, with a cost of $5 Billion.
Since its opening, the toll for bridge has remained at or around $5 for EZ Pass holders, (now at $5.75). Orignally, when the Cuomo bridge was about to open, a rumored $15 toll was leaked and then squashed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Now the NYS Thruway Authority is meeting to increase tolls on all of its bridges and highways. Published reports have the planned tolls for the Cuomo bridge to rise 50 cents per year from 2024-2027, reaching $7.75 in 2027 for EZ Pass holders.
Drivers without an EZ Pass could see a $13.50 toll or higher. There will be no change to the tolls until Jan. 1, 2024.
Anyone driving over the Cuomo bridge should have an EZ Pass. There is little cost and effort to obtain one. Any penalty that drivers will receive in the form of a larger toll have no one to blame but themselves.
Residents in Westchester and Rockland have been given a subsidy for the last five years, in the form of a toll that is lower than all other bridges in the area, except the Bear Mountain Bridge, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.
Drivers can choose those two options and save on the tolls, (Bear Mountain toll is $1.65 for EZ Pass, and $2.15 by mail; Newburgh-Beacon is the same).
Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents both Westchester and Rockland counties, opposed the increase, stating “New York State’s government and its excessive taxes and fees are already the face of the affordability crisis impacting so many families across the Hudson Valley,” said Rep. Lawler. “Now, Governor Hochul and the Thruway Authority want to commit highway robbery by raising tolls on Hudson Valley residents right after increasing the state budget to over 229 billion dollars…this toll hike is a slap in the face to every hard-working New Yorker who crosses this bridge.”
Rep. Lawler also mentioned the proposed congestion pricing plan for lower Manhattan, which would charge drivers up to $23 to travel below 60th Street. But both tolls would help different public authorities, with congestion pricing subsidizing the MTA.
