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Slash in MD Toll Rates Has Little Effect on Revenue

Chesapeake Bay Bridge
creative commons
Chesapeake Bay Bridge

BALTIMORE (AP) - New figures from Maryland transportation officials say Gov. Larry Hogan's decision to slash toll rates didn't have much impact on the state's bottom line.

The Maryland Department of Transportation says the state collected just $5.1 million less from tolls in 2016 than it did the previous year.

Hogan, a Republican, cut toll rates around the state in 2015, calling it needed tax relief.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the Bay Bridge had the biggest drop in toll revenue, collecting $28.1 million less in 2016 than in 2015.

But a 9.4 percent increase in highway traffic meant the state largely made up that difference with tolls collected on other roads, notably the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.