History
The origin of the NYSBA was also embodied in the Great Depression during the 1930s and 1940s. State finances were in short supply and an originally proposed plan for the state to build the Rip Van Winkle Bridge was vetoed by then Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. A possible precursor to the New Deal, Roosevelt supported the creation of an Authority, separate from state finances.
On March 31, 1932, Roosevelt signed into law a bill sponsored by Greene County Assemblyman Ellis Bentley that created the Bridge Authority as an entity that would issue toll revenue bonds to pay for what would become the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.
In 1933, during the construction of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, the Authority acquired the Mid-Hudson Bridge, originally built by the State Department of Public Works in 1930.
Of note, the toll for a round trip across the Mid-Hudson Bridge for a car with 3 passengers in 1933 was $2.20, more than the $1.50 charged today. The 1933 $1 toll for a one horse wagon is no longer charged.
The Rip Van Winkle Bridge was dedicated in 1935.
The Bear Mountain Bridge, originally built by a private venture in 1923, was sold to the Authority in 1940.
The Authority dedicated the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge in 1957, the first span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in 1963 and the second span in 1980.
The NYSBA has been self-sufficient throughout its more than seventy-five year history, operating without Federal or State tax monies and reinvesting toll revenues to continue to maintain and improve these vital Hudson River Crossings.
The Bridge Authority charges an auto toll of $1.50 for eastbound traffic on all five bridges. The last rate increase was January 30, 2012, a 50 cent increase from the prior rate of $1.00. Commercial tolls are based on axle count. NYSBA is a member of the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system.
The Bridge Authority operates all 5 of the road bridges on the Hudson between, but not including, the New York State Thruway Authority's two bridges: Tappan Zee Bridge to the south and the Berkshire Extension bridge to the north, known as the Castleton Bridge.
Read more about this topic: New York State Bridge Authority
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