Politics & Government

Bay Bridge Toll Fee Climbs to $6 Starting July 1

The fees will be used to pay off state debt and bridge maintenance.

This post was reported and written by Editor D. Frank Smith

Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is about to get a little more expensive.

The current round-trip toll fee of $4 for two-axle vehicles will be raised to $6 starting July 1, as part of the second wave of a phasing in of higher toll fees that began in November 2011. When the changes began, the toll fee was $2.50.

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In a press release on the toll price change, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) said the toll fees were being used to pay off significant state debt.

"The plan is projected to generate approximately $90 million in its first full year to pay significant debt for rehabilitating MDTA’s aging bridges, tunnels and highways and for constructing additional highway capacity in the Baltimore and Washington regions," according to the press release.

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The release also states that the toll prices are lower now, with inflation, than when the span first opened in 1952, charging passengers $2.80 plus 25 cents per passenger. According to an inflation calculator on the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics website, $2.80 in 1952 is equivalent to $24.57 in 2013.

Between July 2011 and June 2012, 28 million vehicles passed over the bridge, according to statistics from MDTA.

A list of some of the changes can be viewed here:

Vehicle Current Rate Starting July 1: 2-axle $4 $6; 3-axle $8 $12; 4-axle $12 $1;8 5-axle $24 $36; 6-axle $30 $45

A full listing of all toll fee changes can be viewed on the official MDTA website.  


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