The busy George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City is moving to cashless tolls, and in the process removing a reminder of a notorious piece of history.
Beginning July 10, drivers paying cash tolls will have their license plates scanned and will be billed by mail. As part of the transformation, the tollbooths and islands will be demolished.
The tollbooths on the bridge’s upper level were at the center of 2013′s “Bridgegate” scandal when political operatives realigned traffic lanes to create gridlock near the bridge to punish a local mayor who didn’t support then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Christie wasn’t charged but two former aides were convicted in federal court and one pleaded guilty. Their convictions later were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The bridge is the busiest of the crossings operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and handled roughly 49 million eastbound vehicles last year. In addition to serving as an entry point for commuters into New York City, it carries millions of vehicles annually traveling on Interstate 95.
Cashless tolling already is in place at the authority’s three Staten Island bridges and the Holland Tunnel, and is scheduled to be introduced at the Lincoln Tunnel later this year.
Because the scanners can’t reliably determine the number of passengers in a vehicle, carpool discounts at the George Washington Bridge will be discontinued, according to the Port Authority.
(AP)
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5 Responses
The GWB has been cashless for a few years already.
The GWB is not just the busiest bridge of the Port Authority, it is the busiest bridge in the entire world.
Ujm, The approach from 80/95 to the upper level still has full service lanes that give carpool discounts.
“Because the scanners can’t reliably determine the number of passengers in a vehicle, carpool discounts at the George Washington Bridge will be discontinued, according to the Port Authority.”
Well that’s dumb! The carpool discount is a major discount, so maybe they should come up with a different system to give it rather just removing it altogether
Their convictions later were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nice way to bury the lede. The Supreme Court said the convictions were bogus, and the first court to hear the charges should have dismissed them on the spot, so why report them in the first place? Only to taint the falsely accused aides and their boss Christie.