MDTA To Begin Public Hearings On Toll Hike Proposal

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Maryland Transportation Authority will be holding its first public hearing on a proposal to raise tolls on the state's bridge, tunnels and other roads.

The hearing will be held at Shady Grove Middle School at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. It is the first of nine hearings on the toll increases. All the sessions will include a formal presentation and testimony.

The proposals include increasing tolls for passenger cars on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from $2.50 to $5 starting Oct. 1, and to $8 beginning in July 2013. One-way tolls for the Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Key Bridge would go from $2 to $3.

The agency gave preliminary approval to the increases last week.

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