2/2/04-The state’s Transportation Commissioner told a legislative panel in Albany Jan. 27 that adding tolls to existing interstate highways in the state is a possibility as New York looks for ways to raise the money it needs for highway projects.
Commissioner Joseph Boardman, concerned about the uncertainty of federal transportation aid, said his agency has been examining what highways might be right for tolls.
The Bush administration is threatening a veto of a highway-spending bill that sends money for roads and bridges to almost every congressional district.
The highway bill under consideration in the U.S. Senate would provide $318 billion over six years. President Bush wants to keep the total to $256 billion.
Boardman admits expanding tolls is a long shot. Any proposal would first need an endorsement from the state Legislature and governor before the federal government would even consider it.
Federal law prohibits enacting tolls on interstates that are now toll-free; however, a state can ask the Federal Highway Administration to toll an interstate as a pilot project.
Congress is considering eliminating the restriction as it finalizes its transportation-spending bill.