It was 1944 when then New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey kicked off the construction of the Thruway stretching from the Big Apple to Buffalo. Ten years later the first section of Thruway officially opened in 1954, with roads connecting Lowell in Oneida County, to Rochester in Monroe County.
Now approximately 80 years after Governor Dewey authorized the building of the Thruway, a New York State Senator wants to drastically change who manages that stretch of 569.83 miles of roadway that can cost you a pretty penny to drive on.
State Senator Mark Walczyk (R-Watertown) introduced a bill that would abolish the New York State Thruway Authority and transfer responsibility of managing and maintaining the Thruway to the Department of Transportation.
Why is Senator Walczyk proposing this?
The North Country lawmaker is none too thrilled at the Thruway Authority jacking up tolls by 5% as of January 1st of this year, with another 5% rate hike kicking in three years from now.
Keep in mind, Governor Dewey promised tolls would be gone once Thruway Authority bonds were paid off. That happened way back in 1992.
Senator Walczyk’s proposed legislation, Senate Bill S8341, is now before that legislative body’s Transportation Committee.
“The New York State Thruway Authority must be abolished. Unfortunately, it has cost New Yorkers a great deal of money since its inception. The main purpose of the Thruway Authority was to manage the Thruway in its infancy, when it was paid for with bonds. To generate revenue to pay off said bonds, the State utilized tolls. The Governor at the time, Thomas Dewey, promised that tolls would go away once the bonds were paid for. The bonds were paid off in 1992, but the tolls remain. In recent years, tolls have increased dramatically as well. New Yorkers deserve better,” wrote Senator Walczyk in his proposed Senate bill.
Acting New York State Thruway Director Frank G. Hoare just testified before the New York State Senate one week ago, on Wednesday, January 24th.
He defended rate hikes as necessary to complete construction projects along the 2,200 lane miles, 817 bridges, and 134 interchanges.
“The Thruway Authority is operated and maintained solely as a user-fee system and is not supported by any dedicated federal, state or local taxpayer funding. We did not receive any portion of the $13 billion New York received as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Our toll revenue goes directly toward making the Thruway one of the safest highways in the nation,” said Hoare.
While at first glance the idea of abolishing the Thruway Authority sounds appealing to taxpayers across Suffolk County, it appears unlikely it will receive bipartisan support in the Senate, Assembly, and Governor.
Democrats hold a “super majority” in both legislative branches, and without a Democratic co-sponsor or support, Senator Walczyk’s proposed bill will likely sit and die in that Transportation committee.