Only on 12: Gov. Lamont willing to scale back toll plans

Gov. Lamont pushed for implementing 50 toll readers on four major highways by 2023.

News 12 Staff

Jun 11, 2019, 10:15 PM

Updated 1,947 days ago

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Gov. Ned Lamont has been pushing his plan for adding tolls to Connecticut highways for months, but Tuesday he said he is willing to compromise and scale back his plan.
News 12 Connecticut's John Craven sat down with the governor for one-on-one interview today.
All year, Lamont has been pushing his plan to add 50 toll readers to all three interstates and Route 15. Prices would be almost 10 cents a mile. In-state drivers would pay half that price.
However, without enough votes in the state Senate, both sides are going back to the drawing board. Lamont now says he is willing to consider changing his toll plan.
"Maybe we ramp up to tolls over a period of time," says Lamont. "Maybe we start with a little bit of borrowing until we get tolls done. Maybe we do tolls not everywhere, but somewhere."
Last week, both Democrats and Republicans indicated they are also willing to compromise by only tolling specific bridges or specific construction projects.
"There's a lot of options," says Rep. Matt Ritter. "People have talked about this, we talk about this. Bridges are a major cost in Connecticut because we're blessed to be a beautiful state with a lot of water."
Gov. Lamont says he doesn't want a halfway solution, but is someone who knows how to negotiate a fair deal. He plans to meet with lawmakers about tolls next week.
The governor says no matter where both sides land on the matter, he wants it done quickly. That will be done this summer in a special session in Hartford.