GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — The New York State Thruway Authority announced Friday that cashless tolls will be coming to the Grand Island toll barriers next month.
While the the announcement for cashless tolls coming to Grand Island was made last August, the Thruway Authority officially announced it would be in March.
Governor Cuomo pledged in his State of the State Address to implement cashless tolling across the entire Thruway in the next three years.
What are cashless tolls? You might also know them by the name of "open road tolling."
There will still be a charge as you pass over the bridge. But instead of toll booths, there are cameras pointed at the on-coming traffic.
The cameras scan the plate number of the approaching cars and look up the E-ZPass account linked to that vehicle. The system then deducts the toll from that account.
For those who do not have an E-ZPass, the cameras record the license plate and a bill is mailed to the vehicle owner's home.
It will take some design work and construction to install this system on the Grand Island bridges. But we are told it will ease congestion, reduce auto emissions and hang on to the nearly $20 million a year the Grand Island tolls generate.
Cashless tolls have already been rolled out on bridges down state.
Reporter Stephanie Barnes contributed to this report
