Two-Way Tolling On Verrazzano Bridge Set To Pass Congress: Pols

BROOKLYN, NY — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would mean drivers headed to Brooklyn from Staten Island will have to pay a toll for the first time since the 1980s, ending a decades-long fight from both boroughs to bring two-way tolling back to the bridge.

The language bringing split-tolling back to the Verrazzano Bridge was included in a $1.4-trillion spending package for fiscal year 2020 passed by the House on Tuesday, which will now head to the Senate and then to President Donald Trump.

Drivers will pay $9.50 each way on the bridge instead of the current system where it costs $19 to head into Staten Island but nothing to cross into Brooklyn, which elected officials have long said forces local drivers to shoulder the cost of the bridge while out-of-state drivers headed into New York City get through for free.

“Thanks to the overwhelmingly bipartisan support from every level of government, outdated federal laws will no longer create traffic on the expressway and let New Jersey truckers skip out on paying the same tolls we pay every damn day,” said U.S. Rep. Max Rose, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn and introduced the legislation. “Split-tolling will take hundreds of thousands of out-of-stake truckers off the expressways, and for once Staten Islanders don’t have to pay a cent to see their commute improved."

Rose pushed for the legislation along with Brooklyn U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district spans over parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The legislation will lift a ban on two-way tolling that was put on the bridge in the 1980s, which made it the only bridge in the country with federally-mandated one-way tolls.

It will also mean the bridge's $19 fee will no longer hold the title of the most expensive toll in the country. The Verrazzano became the most expensive toll after a hike from $17 earlier this year.

MTA officials have estimated that the two-way tolling could bring in an additional $10 to $15 million in revenue from the bridge.

Officials say the two-way model will eliminate the incentive for non-commuters to "toll-shop" around New York City and therefore fewer trucks on nearby roads, like the Staten Island Expressway, Gowanus Expressway, Manhattan Bridge and Canal and Broome streets in Manhattan.

"Restoring split-tolling will greatly improve traffic and congestion in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, while also capturing new vital funding for the MTA from out-of-state trucks, which no longer will avoid a toll entering New York City via Staten Island or dodge tolls on the Hudson River Bridge and tunnel crossings," Nadler said.

Officials contend that fewer trucks will also mean less wear and tear for the highways, including the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, which officials revealed this week is deteriorating even faster than originally thought.

The two-way toll will maintain the bridge's discounts for EZ Pass users and Staten Island residents, though elected officials didn't say whether new discounts would be added. Brooklyn officials have long pushed for a discount for Brooklynites who use the bridge often to be added.

Nadler, Rose and Velázquez said they expect the spending package with the split-tolling language to pass the U.S. Senate this week. It will then head to Trump to be signed into law.