The state Department of Transportation published a lengthy study on tolls this week, estimating that Connecticut could collect more than $1 billion a year from putting up electronic tolls on the state’s highways.
According to the model used in the study, toll gantrys would be placed approximately every 6.6 miles on interstates 95, 84, 91, 395, 691 and 291 and routes 2, 9, 8 and 15.
Rates would vary, with Connecticut drivers paying less (5.5 cents per mile during rush hour and 4.4 cents per mile in off-peak hours) and commuters receiving an additional 20 percent discount. Heavy trucks would pay the most.
The study came from the administration of outgoing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is leaving office in January. Gov.-elect Ned Lamont has said he supports limiting tolling, favoring charging heavy trucks but not passenger cars.
Based on this week’s study, here’s a look at what some trips in Connecticut could cost if the tolling model proposed by DOT were adopted:
A Hartford resident commuting on I-91 five days a week to New Haven (38 miles each way) during rush hour would pay $3.34 per round trip, or $16.70 for a five-day workweek. Multiply that by 48 weeks — assuming two weeks of vacation and a handful of holidays — and the cost per year is $801.60.
Take the same Hartford-to-New Haven commuter but let’s assume travel outside of rush hour. The cost per round trip drops to $2.66, the cost per week is now $13.30 and the cost per year — assuming the same four weeks off — is $638.40, a savings of $163.20.
Another commuter, taking I-84 from Waterbury to Danbury (27 miles each way), would pay $2.38 per round trip during rush hour and $1.90 if the trips were made during off-peak hours. Adding up those commutes, assuming they happened during rush hour, the driver’s weekly bill (for a five-day workweek) would be $11.90, for a yearly cost of $571.20, again assuming four weeks of not commuting.
A family traveling on a Sunday from Boston to New York City opting to take I-84 the entire way through Connecticut (98 miles) would pay $6.17 each way (6.3 cents per mile) if they had a Massachusetts E-ZPass, avoiding the surcharges for rush hour driving or failing to have a transponder. That same family driving without an E-ZPass, and without registering their car with Connecticut’s toll system, would pay $11.56 each way or $23.12 for their round trip from Danbury to Union.
An out-of-state trucker with an E-ZPass taking I-95 from the Rhode Island border to New York (112 miles) would pay $28.22 if the trip was made during off-peak hours and $35.39 if the trip was made during rush hour. With discounts, a Connecticut trucker would pay $19.71 and $24.64, respectively, for the same trip.
Buses and medium trucks pay more than cars, but less than heavy trucks. An out-of-state bus with an E-ZPass would pay $17.89 to travel down I-395 from Massachusetts and then take I-95 to the New York border, assuming the trip was taken outside of rush hour. The same trip made during rush hour would cost $22.44.
.galleries:after {
content: ”;
display: block;
background-color: #c52026;
margin: 16px auto 0;
height: 5px;
width: 100px;
}
.galleries:before {
content: “Politics Videos”;
display: block;
font: 700 23px/25px Belizio,Georgia,’Droid Serif’,serif;
text-align: center;
color: #1e1e1e;
}
