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Connecticut Legislators Take Up Bill To Put Tolls On Borders

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Highway tolls are under discussion in Hartford today and a lot of state lawmakers see tolls as a way to raise badly needed revenue.

The bill under discussion Monday in the General Assembly's Transportation Committee would place tolls at Connecticut's borders and proponents see tolls as the only way to raise money for badly needed road and bridge repairs.

St. Sen. Scott Frantz of Greenwich said he remembers the 1980s and the back-ups in his border town from people trying to dodge paying the tolls at the Greenwich-New York line, but he is seeing sentiment in favor of electronic tolling - like the E-ZPass system in use on much of the east coast.

Connecticut Legislators Take Up Tolls Bill

"There are people, even in the border towns, who thinks that tolls are a good idea because they believe that fiscally we're in such rough shape, we need to source revenue wherever we can," he told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.

Studies now underway in Connecticut are focusing on tolling systems designed to ease chronic congestion.

Reports say this can be done by adjusting the tolls during rush hours.

Connecticut got rid of its highway tolls in 1985, two years after a tractor-trailer crash at a Stratford toll booth killed seven people.

Lawmakers have considered various plans to resurrect tolls in recent years.

Do you support tolls in Connecticut? Sound off below.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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