NY Thruway: No Toll Hikes In 2017 Budget

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The state Thruway Authority has adopted a budget that won't raise tolls on New York's longest toll road next year.

The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports the 2017 budget approved during the agency's board meeting Monday in Albany keeps tolls stable for the seventh consecutive year. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to keep tolls at current levels through 2020.

Authority officials are projecting a potential record volume of traffic next year for the 60-year-old, 570-mile Thruway system, with more than 267 million vehicles expected to use it. Officials expect toll revenue to top $700 million in 2017.

Thruway officials say the agency's $1.84 billion budget for 2017 is 10 percent lower than the previous year, primarily because spending on the new Tappan Zee Bridge has peaked.