Toll Rises to $2 on 7 Bay Area Bridges to Pay for Repair Work
That $2 bill moldering in your wallet finally has a use--you can drag it out to pay the new tolls that debuted Thursday on seven bridges in the San Francisco Bay area.
The $2 toll is double what it was Wednesday. The estimated $875 million to be collected over the eight- to 10-year life of the law authorizing the increase will be used for earthquake safety upgrades or replacement of bridges.
“I’m not happy about [the increase], but there’s no way to get around it,” said Liz Armstrong, 43, of Sacramento, who commutes to Berkeley twice a week to attend the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
“It’s for retrofitting for earthquakes, and that’s a good thing,” she said. “The money has to come from somewhere--drivers definitely have to pay their fair share.”
The seven state-owned bridges affected by the increase are the San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Carquinez, Dumbarton, San Mateo-Hayward, Richmond-San Rafael, Benicia-Martinez and Antioch bridges.
The toll on the Golden Gate Bridge, which is not state-owned, will remain $3.
A total of more than $2.5 billion will be used for seismic improvements to seven California bridges, five in the Northern California and two in the Southland. In addition to the higher toll, the money will come from state fuel taxes and the proceeds of Proposition 192, a 1996 bond measure.
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