Bear Mountain Bridge switches to cashless tolling as part of statewide project

Drivers will no longer be stopping at toll booths to go over the bridge.

News 12 Staff

Oct 1, 2021, 10:11 AM

Updated 1,106 days ago

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The Bear Mountain Bridge in Garrison is now cashless.
Drivers will no longer be stopping at toll booths to go over the bridge.
Instead, cashless tolling uses state-of-the-art sensors and cameras mounted on a structure called a gantry that read E-ZPass tags and take license plate images.
Vehicles with E-ZPass tags will be automatically charged, and those without one will have a bill mailed to the owner of the registered vehicle.
While many like the idea of keeping traffic moving, some say that all of the information gatherings feels a little intrusive.
“Law enforcement uses it to track people that are wanted, which is a good thing, but there’s always a flip side,” says Peggy Lockwood of Blooming Grove.
The switch at Bear Mountain Bridge is part of a project throughout New York.
All five Hudson River bridges under the New York State Bridge Authority are expected to be moved to cashless tolling.
The Newburgh Beacon Bridge was the first to switch over the summer.
The new system is expected to be brought to the Rip Van Winkle, Kingston-Rhinecliff and Mid-Hudson bridges by the spring.