Gov. Ned Lamont is revealing more information about plans for tolls in Connecticut, including how much your commute could cost you.
In March, the Transportation Committee approved three bills authorizing tolls and the governor’s administration is working on one bill.
The governor and co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, Sen. Carlo Leone and Rep. Roland Lemar, have announced that 40 percent of the revenue from tolls would be paid for by out-of-state drivers.
They said Interstate 84, Interstate 95, Interstate 91 and Route 15 would be tolled.
There will be no more than 50 gantries, which would be placed roughly every six to seven miles.
People who use a Connecticut EZ-Pass and a frequent user discount could expect to pay roughly 25 to 30 cents per gantry, or 4.4 cents per mile.
Following are some of the trips under the Connecticut Department of Transportation proposal.
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Republicans responded angrily to Gov. Ned Lamont’s press conference with Democrats rolling out details of their tolls proposal.
Sen. Len Fasano, (R – North Haven), the Minority Leader in the Connecticut Senate, described the pricing models as, “not a plan,” and even said, “When the real numbers come out and the real hard study is done, this fictitious model that they have on the back here is nothing more than a cartoon sketch at best.”
He defended the Republican plan, which would be a combination of debt and federal matching funds, arguing that the plan would executed within existing limitations, borne entirely by Connecticut taxpayers.
Rep. Laura Devlin, (R – Fairfield), said any new cost to Connecticut residents, even one specifically for transportation, is too much.
“We pay a car tax, New York doesn’t have a car tax. Massachusetts doesn’t have the petroleum gross earnings tax. Now we’re telling Connecticut residents, on top of all of those user fees, we want you to come out of pocket on day one of an additional $650 million.”
When asked whether the presented prices would be in the legislation, Lamont says he has no problem with that, and says the entire plan is up for negotiation.
