Governor Hochul publicizes the elimination of the final toll gate on the New York State Thruway, an essential milestone within the transition to cashless tolls

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the removal of the last toll booths on the New York State Thruway, a historic and significant milestone in the $ 355 million cashless toll design-build project. On Monday, Cashless Tolling Constructors, LLC began removing the last standing toll booth at Exit 60 (Westfield), the last of 52 toll booths, including 230 individual toll booths that have been removed since the cashless toll went live in November 2020.

“The cashless toll not only helps improve safety and the flow of traffic on our state’s highways, it is also a critical component in strengthening New York’s economy, both regionally and nationally.” said Governor Hochul. “As someone who has spent countless hours driving every inch of the freeway, I can testify how transformative this milestone is for the hundreds of thousands of drivers who use this road every day, and I thank the hundreds of people who continue to do so working around the clock to improve New York’s transportation system every day. “

The realignment of the exits and the road redevelopment will continue at the intersections of the Thruway system and are scheduled to be completed by the end of October, weather permitting.

Matthew J. Driscoll, Executive Director of the Thruway Authority, said: “The introduction of cashless tolls is one of the largest and most comprehensive projects in the almost 70-year history of the New York State Thruway Authority. Hundreds of women and men have spent thousands of hours on it over the past two years “transformative project that has vastly improved the future of transportation in the decades to come.”

The transition to cashless tolls on the Thruway system began in 2016 on the then Tappan-Zee Bridge, which is now Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, followed by the remaining fixed price barriers in 2018.

In 2019, construction of the Thruway’s 400-mile ticketing system began with the installation of portals at 52 toll booths, including portals above the main freeway and on entry and exit ramps. Portals installed over the highway range from 58 to 150 feet in length and 23 feet in height and weigh between 25,000 and 104,000 pounds. Portals installed above the entry and exit ramps range from 48 feet to 94 feet in length and 23 feet in height and weigh between 33,000 and 74,000 pounds. Gantries were made using approximately 3.5 million pounds of 100 percent American made steel under the New York Buy American Act and with hundreds of New York workers at LMC Industrial Contractors Inc. of Livingston County.

On November 14, 2020, the cashless toll went live in the ticket system. Since then, millions of transactions have been successful on the state-of-the-art system with more than 2,000 state-of-the-art cameras on bridges across the country. In 2019, 282 million vehicle journeys were documented on the 570 mile long Thruway motorway, which corresponds to a total number of kilometers of more than 8.4 billion.

To further enhance the cashless tolling experience, drivers are encouraged to download the Tolls NY mobile app, which drivers can use to manage and update their E-ZPass accounts, pay toll bills quickly and easily, and receive important account notifications.

Motorists are strongly advised to sign up for the E-ZPass, which is the most convenient way to pay tolls on the Thruway. Additionally, NY E-ZPass account holders pay 30 percent less than postage tolls and avoid any administration fees.

E-ZPass tags are sold in more than 900 locations across the state, including Thruway Service Areas, local grocery and convenience stores, urban locations, New York State DMVs, online at e-zpassny.com, and more. To find a dealer near you, go to thruway.ny.gov/getezpass.

For more information on cashless tolls and tips on paying bills on time, visit the Thruway Authority website at thruway.ny.gov.