Toll Collections Resume On 2 Bridges In Rockaways

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Toll collections resumed Saturday morning at two bridges in the storm-damaged Rockaways.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge began collecting tolls again just after midnight Saturday morning.

The tolls were suspended on Nov. 4, as the loss of train service after Superstorm Sandy made it difficult for residents to get back and forth.

Shuttle buses were operating as of Saturday between Howard Beach and Mott Avenue-Far Rockaway, and shuttle train service was also running on the peninsula. But the A subway line was still closed beyond Howard Beach.

The Marine Parkway bridge links the Rockaway Peninsula with Brooklyn, while the Cross Bay connects the peninsula to the rest of Queens.

The car tolls are $3.25 cash or $1.80 with E-ZPass.

Meanwhile, beginning at 3 a.m. Sunday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is raising the tolls at its crossings. During peak hours, they will increase to $13 in cash, up from $12 on the George Washington Bridge, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Goethals Bridge, Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing.

Drivers with E-ZPass will pay $10.25 during peak hours, up from $9.50.

In September, an independent audit said the toll hikes were necessary to maintain the Port Authority's transportation infrastructure, including maintenance on bridges, roads and tunnels, and to fund capital projects.

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