CT State Rep. Says Bring Back Tolls

New York does it. New Jersey and Massachusetts do, too. But when it comes to collecting tolls on state highways, Connecticut says, not here. 

The Nutmeg state stopped collecting tolls nearly 30 years ago, after a 1983 crash on I-95 in Stratford was blamed partially on the driver having to stop for a toll. Seven people were killed in that accident, and the tolls quickly came down.

But many in the state now say that Connecticut needs to generate the revenue tolls could bring to pay for infrastructure improvements on roads and highways. And state Rep. Pat Dillon, D-New Haven, has introduced House Bill No. 5207: An Act Establishing Tolls on Connecticut Highways — an act to raise revenue through tolls. 

Though the bill does not specify where the tolls would be constructed, Dillon told the New Haven Independent that she envisioned them at state borders on I-95, I-91, and the Wilbur Cross and Merritt Parkways.

Earlier this year, legislators brought up the possibility of bringing back the tolls. While it passed the state Senate, the House was not as supportive and the bill quickly died. Elected officials in Connecticut, though, started discussing the tolls again in early December to make up for shrinking federal transportation funds.  

Dillion introduced her bill late last week, according to the General Assembly's website. It scheduled for a hearing by the Joint Committee on Transportation on Feb. 17.