5% toll hike to take effect Jan. 1 on NYS Thruway roads

The New York Thruway system will raise tolls Monday by 5% on upstate bridges and highways, marking the first toll increase in 14 years.

Tolls will increase statewide primarily using the E-ZPass reader on highways, including Interstate 95 from the Bronx to Connecticut, I-287 across the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, up I-87 to Albany and west on I-90 past Rochester and Buffalo.

Another toll increase of 5% is planned in 2027. Tolls on the Cuomo Bridge will increase 50 cents next year, from $5.75 to $6.25, and will increase $1.50 in 2027, to $7.75.

The New York Thruway system does not include any roads on Long Island or in New York City south of the Bronx.

The toll increases were announced a year ago, followed by five public meetings.

“The Thruway Authority receives no dedicated federal, state or local tax dollars and relies primarily on toll dollars to maintain and operate the Thruway, which is one of the safest and reliable toll roads in the country,” Thruway Authority chair Joanne M. Mahoney said in a statement after the tolls were approved in September.

Thruway officials say the tolls support $470 million in unfunded capital projects through 2026. About 85% of Thruway roads are in their original condition and in need of maintenance and resurfacing.

The average age of the Thruway’s 815 bridges is 55 with, 75% of those bridges more than 60 years old. More than 85 bridges have been identified for replacement in the next decade.

The cost of replacing those bridges would be about $800 million, officials said in a statement, adding, "Factoring in the hundreds of bridges that will require replacement not long thereafter, the costs escalate into the $6-to-$7 billion range.”

The statement continued: “The need to replace bridges grows exponentially after the 10-year timeline when hundreds of bridges will need to be replaced in the following decade.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.