Latest CT Tolls Plan Still Includes NY's I-684

HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut officials still plan to put a toll gantry on I-684, which is almost wholly in New York. That state's Senate Democrats recently released the draft of a heavy truck-only toll bill, which includes the location of a dozen bridge gantries and proposed rates.

I-684 is the "interstate highway" that runs down the east side of Putnam and Westchester counties. That's Westchester County, New York. The highway runs from Brewster (in New York) to Rye Brook (in New York). Folklore in Westchester has always held that the only reason I-684 crosses into and out of Connecticut at all was because its proponents wanted federal interstate highway funds.

The Connecticut toll gantry would be sandwiched between the exit for the Westchester County Airport to the south and the exit for Armonk, New York, to the north.

Since the proposal was first floated, it has drawn astonished and affronted laughter from folks on both sides of the border.

New York State Senator Pete Harckham, whose constituents in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties use I-684 — some daily and others when they can't avoid it — said, "There are enough roads elsewhere in Connecticut to toll to fund infrastructure projects in Connecticut."

The Middletown (Connecticut) Press called it "the highway toll equivalent of President Donald Trump declaring Mexico will pay for the border wall."

New Castle's former town supervisor said local officials in Westchester foresee another problem for local municipalities — that many trucks would take to the back roads, causing deterioration as well as traffic. "This is nothing more than a money grab from New Yorkers," Rob Greenstein said.

The locations of the gantries would be:

• I-84 in Newtown and Southbury
• I-84 and Route 8 in Waterbury
• I-84 in West Hartford
• Meeting of I-91 and Route 15 at the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford/East Hartford
• I-95 in Stamford
• I-95 in Westport
• I-95 in West Haven
• I-95 in East Lyme
• I-95 over Thames River in New London/Groton
• I-395 in Plainfield
• I-684 in Greenwich (This is the one that upsets New Yorkers)
• Route 8 south of the I-84 interchange in Waterbury

A vote is expected sometime next week during a special legislative session, according to CT News Junkie.

SEE ALSO:

• Connecticut Still Wants A Toll For Trucks On I-684
• I-684 Could Get Tollbooth For Trucks Only
• CT Proposes Toll On I-684: Highway Robbery

Gov. Ned Lamont originally wanted many more tolls for both cars and trucks. He has revised the proposal several times to meet state Republicans' objections.

Lamont predicts that the tolls will raise $180 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. Some state legislators previously predicted it would bring in between $150 to $175 million in revenue per year. Lamont is angling for a stable revenue source that could be used to pay for low-interest federal transportation loans.

Rhode Island has a similar toll system and is in the process of building toll gantries. The state has suffered some delays in getting the full system up and running. Gov. Gina Raimondo reduced the expected toll revenue from $25 million to $18.5 million for the current fiscal year in her budget, according to the Providence Journal.

Rhode Island’s system has 13 planned truck-only tolls with five currently running and another seven expected to be completed in June.

Lamont said last week that he is confident that Connecticut won’t have issues getting the gantries completed on schedule.

The bill by Connecticut Senate Democrats would mandate that all toll funds collected go to the Special Transportation Fund. The base initial rate would be between $6 and $13 per toll with discounts for trucks with Connecticut EZ-Passes. Trucks that go back and forth between a toll gantry would only be charged once per day for each direction of travel.

A truck driver could pay between $30 and $65 one-way if it were to travel across all of I-95 in Connecticut under the current plan assuming it had an out-of-state transponder.

Tolls would apply to large commercial trucks between Class 8 and Class 13. Class 8 trucks have 3 or 4 axles and Class 13 trucks have 7 or more axles.

Related: Truck-Only Toll Would Depend On How Many Wheels You Have In CT

The bill would also establish a Transportation Policy Council that would establish future rate increases that would be tied to the rate of inflation or the construction cost index. The council would consist of a mix of appointments from majority and minority parties in the General Assembly, state commissioners and governor appointments.

A public hearing is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. at the state capitol.

Republicans Question Car Toll Protections

There is some language in the Connecticut bill that includes some assurances that cars wouldn’t be tolled, however, there is already some debate about whether the protections are strong enough.

There is a provision within the draft that could allow changes in the middle of a fiscal after an emergency declaration by the governor and a 3/5ths vote by both the state Senate and House.

Republican Senate leader Len Fasano said under his interpretation there could be tolls on all trucks and cars within two years. Bond holders wouldn't mind if cars and more trucks are added to tolls, he said. Fasano also said he believes the 3/5ths legislative vote wouldn't be necessary under the bonding language.

"You haven’t hurt the bond holders, you have improved their position, so that type of safety feature if you would really doesn’t work at all,” he said during a Tuesday press conference.

Fasano also said Lamont violated his "debt diet" pledge by adding more available bond money in an effort to get more votes for the plan. He also had an issue with an unelected transportation council having power over toll rates.

By Rich Scinto, Patch Staff. Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.