Tolls Are A Familiar, And Unpopular, Road For Connecticut
Interstate 95 is one of several highways were lawmakers are considering putting tolls. Photo by Patrick Skahill for Connecticut Public Radio
It was 1983. Toll booths in Connecticut had already experienced decades of problems like accidents and traffic jams.
And then, a truck slammed into a car waiting at the Stratford toll plaza on Interstate 95.
The truck hit multiple cars. There was an explosion. Investigators said the fire was so intense they couldn’t read the license plates on some of the cars. Seven people died.
But for years prior, tolls had problems.
Commuters in southwest Connecticut complained they bore most of the fees. News reports at the time documented foggy days and fender benders at toll plazas. And there were other fatal accidents, too.
All of that led state leaders to reverse course and eliminate tolls. And this April, it will be 30 years since the last bit of change dropped into a Connecticut toll booth.