For the second straight year, a proposal to establish electronic tolls at state border roads such as Interstate 95 in Greenwich to generate much-needed transportation funding is among the legislative proposals state lawmakers are considering this month.
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The bill, proposed by state Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, a transportation committee co-chair, would install the electronic tolls at borders to collect tolls from out-of-state traffic which currently travels state roads for free.
Residents living near the tolls could be provided a tax credit to offset the fees, Guerrera said.
Guerrera said the state has few options to pay for transportation projects besides instituting road user fees to replace a drop in state gas tax revenues due to less driving and better fuel economy of hybrid and electric vehicles.
"We need to have this conversation because we cannot rely on this gas tax anymore to fix our roads," Guerrera said. "In the next five years you'll probably be looking at cars that get 40 or 50 miles a gallon, and our infrastructure is going to fall apart. It's a huge, huge problem and it needs to be addressed and fixed before something tragic happens."
Needless to say, State Rep. Godfrey is not in support of this proposal that places an unfair burden on border communities.
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