Conn. legislature to look at restoring tolls

Connecticut-bound road-trippers take heed: It may cost $3 just to enter the state, and $3 more on the way out, according a report from the Hartford Courant.

State Rep. Tony Guerrera (D-Rocky Hill) is calling for tolls to bring in hundreds of millions in funding for highway and bridge projects.

The state did away with tolls in the 1980s, but Guerrera has been singing the toll tune for the past four years, while Republicans and even some fellow Democrats disagreed with the idea.

But now Guerrera believes he can give the General Assembly fresh perspective behind his plan. This timely reasoning includes minimizing the gas tax and implementing a toll system that doesn’t require drivers to slow down. He wants to cut the current 25-cent gas tax down to about 12 cents, according to the report. And Guerrera wants the toll system to be high-tech and suggested either using an overhead video camera and computer system to determine vehicle owners to send them their bill, or to use transponders on cars that would allow tolls to be deducted automatically from drivers’ credit card accounts.