FEARING A HEAVY TOLL
Proposed Thruway Authority control of local bridges runs into resistance
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to absorb the state Bridge Authority into the Thruway Authority isn’t sitting well with two Democratic state senators who represent parts of the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Jen Metzger and James Skoufis, in a joint statement issued Monday, said the merger probably would result in higher tolls on local bridges to help cover the construction costs of the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (named for the governor’s father) that replaced the Tappan Zee Bridge.
“This move comes shortly after the Thruway Authority board announced toll hikes beginning in 2021, likely to support its mounting debt due to the cost of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge,” the senators said.
Metzger, of Rosendale, represents the state’s 42nd Senate District. Skoufis, of Cornwall, in the senator for the 39th District.
Cuomo, a Democrat, included the merger of the two authorities in the state budget he unveiled last month, which requires approval by the state Legislature.
“The Bridge Authority, which is responsible for five bridges spanning the Hudson River, and the Thruway Authority, which operates one of the nation’s longest tollways, are both establishing cashless tolling and serve in overlapping roles,” Cuomo said in his budget statement. “In order to leverage their expertise,
“This move comes shortly after the Thruway Authority board announced toll hikes beginning in 2021, likely to support its mounting debt due to the cost of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.”
increase coordination, and operate more efficiently, the FY (fiscal year) 2021 budget merges the Bridge Authority into the Thruway Authority.”
The Bridge Authority operates the Kingston-Rhinecliff, Mid-Hudson, Rip Van Winkle, NewburghBeacon and Bear Mountain bridges, all of which have low tolls, Metzger and Skoufis said.
“Let’s just call this what it is: a backdoor attempt to raise our Mid-Hudson tolls to subsidize the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge,” Skoufis said. “If these two authorities merge, they will undoubtedly become dominated by non-Hudson
Valley interests and stakeholders.
“There’s a reason the Bridge Authority and Thruway Authority have functioned as two separate entities: they serve two completely different constituencies with distinct and diverse needs,” Skoufis added. “I have great concern that if these two merge, tolls will not only rise over time, but MidHudson stakeholders’ voices will be effectively shut out.”
Metzger said the governor should not mess with success.
“The New York State Bridge Authority is an efficient, well-run organization that successfully operates and maintains five bridges in the Hudson Valley at low cost, and we should keep it that way,” she said.
“There are no efficiencies to be gained by the governor’s proposal to abolish the Bridge Authority and shift its responsibilities to the Thruway Authority, and there is only one direction for tolls to go under this scenario: up.
“Hudson Valley residents would be poorly served by the proposed merger, and I strongly oppose its inclusion in the budget,” Metzger said.
Before Cuomo proposed the merger, the Bridge Authority announced in December 2019 that tolls on its five spans will increase in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The first increase, in May of this year, will raise the cost of eastbound crossings from $1.50 to $1.75 for cash customers and from $1.25 to $1.35 for E-ZPass users. (Westbound crossings will remain free.)
After that, rates for eastbound E-ZPass users are to increase to $1.45 in 2021, $1.55 in 2022 and $1.65 in 2023. Cash tolls for the five bridges will remain at $1.75 in 2021 before increasing to $2 in 2022 and $2.15 in 2023.
Anthony Adamo, president of Region 3 of the Civil Service Employees Association, also opposes the merger of the two authorities.
“The Bridge Authority has long been a fiscally stable entity that has provided exemplary maintenance and oversight of its five Hudson River crossings,” the union leader said in a prepared statement. “Given the ongoing financial concerns at the Thruway Authority, a merger would be nothing more than a way to raid the Bridge Authority coffers to pay for projects elsewhere in the state.”
Bridge Authority board Chairman Richard A. Gerentine said Monday that the agency is operated efficiently by dedicated employees.
“People come from all over the world to look at our bridges,” Gerentine said. “The employees take great pride in their work. “
Gerentine, a former Ulster County legislator, echoed the senators’ comment about tolls.
“I don’t think you can find a cheaper way to go across the Hudson River,” he said.
The merger has been proposed unsuccessfully in the past, but Gerentine said he is more concerned about its approval this time because both houses of the state Legislature now have Democratic majorities.
“Given the ongoing financial concerns at the Thruway Authority, a merger would be nothing more than a way to raid the Bridge Authority coffers to pay for projects elsewhere in the state.” — Anthony Adamo, president of Region 3 of the Civil Service Employees Association