Mid-Hudson Bridge Will Soon Say 'Goodbye' to Toll Booths

Here's the approximate timeline for the removal of toll booths.

The days of being able to use the cash lanes at the Mid-Hudson Bridge are coming to an end soon, and the quicker it happens, the quicker many commuters hope it will clear up some of the traffic crossing the span.

If you've spent anytime driving around the Hudson Valley and had to use any toll roads like the New York State Thruway, or had to cross any of the five pay-to-cross bridges, you might have noticed that slowly most tolls booths are becoming a thing of the past.

Toll booths have disappeared from many exits on the New York State Thruway including Newburgh, New Paltz and Kingston. Crossing the Newburgh Beacon Bridge and the Bear Mountain Bridge don't require drivers to stop and pay tolls anymore as they have both begun using "gantry's" to collect tolls from drivers.

A "gantry" is what drivers drive under, and it either reads your EZ-Pass, or records your license plate number and after you drive through it, they send you a bill in the mail for the amount of the toll. If you haven't driven through a gantry yet, we have all your gantry information here....LOL!

When Will the Mid-Hudson Bridge go Cashless?

We spoke to the New York Bridge Authority last week and they told us that the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which connects Ulster County, to Dutchess County will be "our last bridge to go cashless." The bridge is set to go cashless in March of 2022.

When Will the Toll Booths Be Removed?

According to the New York Bridge Authority the timeframe for the demolition of the toll plaza will depend on how the switch to cashless goes. They told us, "We'll know a timeframe for the demolition of the plaza when we get closer to March, 2022."

The Rip Van Winkle Bridge that connects Catskill and Hudson will be cashless starting in November and with construction underway now, the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge that connects Kingston to Rhinecliff will be cashless starting in December according to the Bridge Authority.