Effective Jan. 1, the 8.2% toll increase applies to the following roadways: 183A Toll, 183 South, 290 Toll, E. Hwy. 71, MoPac and SH 45SW.
Toll rates for the 183A Toll will increase 4-14 cents, depending on the toll plaza, while rates for MoPac will go up 5 cents. Rates on 290 Toll will increase 5-11 cents, while rates on E. Hwy. 71 and SH 45SW will increase 8 cents and 9 cents, respectively. 183 South will see an increase of 5-11 cents.
Toll rate increases are based on a policy instituted by many mobility authorities across the state, Jose Hernandez, chief financial officer of the Mobility Authority, at a meeting Oct. 26. This policy looks at the index of consumer prices for all urban consumers, based on the price paid for goods and services, and automatically adjusts toll rates for the coming year based on the calculated increase.
Toll rates in the last two years have risen higher than in previous years for the CTRMA turnpike system. In 2021, the approved toll rate increase was 5.39%, or 2-9 cents. Toll rates for 2017-20 ranged between 1.46-2.27%, or 1-3 cents.
“I don’t take it lightly that we’re increasing rates. ... But I also recognize the continued viability of our system. We need to be healthy—that’s in the community interest,” Director David Armbrust said.
The additional money raised by tolls will help pay for the rising prices the Mobility Authority endures in its contracts to conduct traffic and revenue studies, which also adjust costs based on the consumer prices for all urban consumers index.
“Because of where inflation is, it seems like an inordinate increase, but we do have contracts that go up, so our costs do go up,” Mobility Authority board Treasurer David Singleton said. “They may not be raw material costs, but we are realizing the impact of inflation just like everybody else.”
