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MDTA To Raise Tolls By At Least 75 Cents

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--It's coming, but it may not be as bad as first thought. The state is hiking tolls at many toll facilities.

Mike Schuh breaks down the possible hikes and the impact on drivers across the state.

When you go through these tolls, you're paying for the entire upkeep of the Maryland Transportation Authority system, as well as two massive and expensive construction projects-- one up on 95 and the other, the Intercounty Connector.

The MDTA will let you drive on its roadways, provided you pay as you go. The toll authority reminds us, it is these tolls that pays for the upkeep of its entire system.

"Many of our facilities are over 50-years-old," said Harold Bartlett, MDTA."And like many things that are 50-years- old, they require a substantial reinvestment to keep them up and running."

To do that, you'll pay more at the tolls--maybe as much as 75 cents more.

"On the surface, I don't like it. It's more money," said John McNerney. "What am I getting for it, I guess, is the question."

MDTA has burrowed millions, and tolls keep the  system from digging a financial hole.

"We have to do the necessary, and sometimes to do the necessary you have to face the unpopular," Bartlett said.

On the bright side, until commercial truck traffic picked up this year—they pay a lot more in tolls—the increase was going to be much higher.

MDTA officials say that at one point the increase was $1.35, then $1.10 and now down to 75 cents.

Before the MDTA raises the tolls, they will hold hearings across the state, so customers can vent a little bit.

 The MDTA board acts independently of the legislature or the governor and is expected to raise the tolls sometime this year.

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