NYS Thruway Post Record Revenue in 2024; Truck Traffic Slightly Off on Cuomo Bridge
ALBANY—Buoyed by toll increases that took effect last year, revenue on the New York State Thruway surpassed $1 billion for the first time in the agency’s 71-year history in 2024. The Authority reported that there was a light increase in passenger traffic, bought back usage to pre-COVID pandemic levels of 2019.
Last year’s passenger car traffic of 338.2 million was up 5.5 million from 2023, or nearly 2%, from 2023 totals. Meanwhile, revenue jumped to $1.1 billion last year, with more than $980 million of that coming from tolls, an increase of $165 million or 18% since 2023, it was reported last week.
The Thruway has plans to use the money to repair more than half of its roads and replace or rehabilitate a fifth of its 819 bridges over the next five years as part of a $2.7 billion capital investment plan approved last year, according to the USA Today Network.
“At more than 70 years old, Thruway’s continued investment in its infrastructure is a priority to maintain the level of safety and service our motorists have come to expect and deserve,” Thruway spokeswoman Jennifer Givner told the news service.
A key finding of the data showed that truck traffic remained flat across the NYS Thruway and dipped at the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. However, trucking experts were unable to explain the recent traffic falloff.
In the last two months of 2024, the Cuomo Bridge’s commercial traffic was down 19,000 from the same period in 2023. For the year, commercial traffic was down 3% to 2.48 million. Totals for the beginning of the year are not yet available, the news agency noted.
At the George Washinton Bridge, truck traffic improved 2% from 2023 levels for a total of 4.45 million, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Five-axle trucks with E-ZPass pay about $109 to cross the GWB at peak hours, almost double the $56 tab for the same-sized truck at the Cuomo Bridge.
Toll Increase Impact
As reported here in CIC-BCA NewsBriefs, the Thruway Authority this month announced it began paving nearly five miles of I-95 from Pelham Manor to Mamaroneck in Westchester County, part of an $86.7 million paving project. Last month, the Authority began the dismantling of the North Avenue over I-95 in New Rochelle, a $32 million project. And last month, the Thruway started a $19.4 million project to replace two Thruway bridges in Rockland County dating back to the 1950s.
Published: April 16, 2025