Thruway Authority Chair suggests tolls could double on new Tappan Zee Bridge

Thruway Authority Chair Howard Milstein raised eyebrows with comments made at a business conference on Monday, stating tolls could double on the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

Milstein quickly backtracked from the comments, stating the Thruway Authority does not know the final numbers. Thruway Executive Director Thomas Madison, similarly argued there was no way to know exactly what tolls would look like and argued Milstein was referring to a hypothetical, not an actual, suggested toll figure.

The comments came at a sensitive time for the Thuway Authority. Last Wednesday, the state Environmental Facilities Corp. approved a $255 million loan which was controversially re-dedicated from a clean water fund. Officials argued the additional $255 million would be used, in part, to keep tolls down on the new bridge.