What are some examples of highways or bridges that had tolls, and the tolls were removed after some years?
I-95 between Richmond, VA, and Petersburg, VA. Once it was paid for, the tolls were removed.
Both floating bridges in Seattle once had toll booths. Gone now.
The Connecticut Turnpike (the part of I-95 in Connecticut) and the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways. In short, Connecticut removed all tolls throughout the state.
GA-400just north of Atlanta. They kept the toll longer than planned, but did eventually remove it.
Might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but Turnpikes in the UK have a fairly interesting history
I-30 between Dallas and Ft. Worth, toll road between 1957 and 1977. I don’t have a cite that provides the details specific to this project but, essentially, the tolls were established to pay for the project with the idea that it would be maintained as part of the interstate system.
The Turnpike Commission at the time was reluctant to turn loose of the tolls but one of the members pushed to assure the original charter was followed. A politico assuring that public trust be maintained, imagine that!
The Garden City Skyway (a massive, 2.2 kilometer long, 6 lane bridge) in Southern Ontario, Canada was opened in 1963 and the toll booths were shut down 10 years later.
This came as the result of a tragic tollbooth crash and fire that killed 7 people in 1983.
Tolling was reinstated on the Evergreen Point Bridge in 2011 to help fund its replacement. No toll booths, though; it was done automatically either by transponders or license plates.
The Denver-Boulder Turnpike. The tollbooths were removed when the bonds were paid off early in 1967.
In the late 50s, they added a second bridge to Interstate Bridge across the Columbia between Portland and Vancouver to handle I-5. From 1960 to 1966 there was a toll (20 cents for cars). The new stuff was paid off and the toll ended.
Similarly, the Astoria–Megler_Bridge across the mouth of the Columbia had tolls which ended two years early!
In the NW, toll roads are despised and even bridge tolls are usually barely tolerated. So these examples “until it’s paid off” tolls are reasonably common.
There was (I recall) a 25¢ toll on the Southern State Parkway on Long Island, NY. Sometime in the 80s, the local newspaper investigated and found the bond the toll was set up to pay off was paid off years before and the toll was barely covering the cost of collecting them. The toll booth was shut down shortly thereafter. There is still a wide area on the parkway where the toll booths were.
The Vincent Thomas Bridge at L.A. Harbor stopped collecting tolls in 2000.
The Coronado Bridge in San Diego stopped collecting tolls in 2002. Since then, there are no toll bridges in Southern California.
And are now reconsidering the matter.
The Coronado bridge in San Diego has phantom tollbooths. And ninjas, I see.
The Carquinez Straight bridge in the SF Bay Area was supposed to lose tolls once paid for around 1980. Still collectin’ 'em.
Many years ago on a trip to Brazil I was happy to see that they had removed the tolls from the bridge that connects Rio de Janeiro with Niteroi, across Guanabara bay.
People were saying how it was great that promises were kept and that once the bridge was paid for the tolls went away.
…but they didn’t remove the toll booths, and I thought that was an ominous sign.
Sure enough, two years later when I was back I saw signs singing the praises of Onda Livre, the Brazilian equivalent of EZ Pass, and off in the distance I saw those same toll booths, brought back into service after a few years hiatus.
So when someone declares tolls gone, make sure they tear down the toll booths.
If Connecticut does restore tolls, I expect they’ll go all electronic collection, collecting tolls via EZ Pass or by reading license plates. Some of these systems don’t even require you to slow down, so it might at least avoid tying up traffic.
And Lewis & Clark bridge across the Columbia from Rainier, Or to Longview, Wa.
The Skye Bridge in Scotland had an expensive toll, but it was lifted a few years ago. Skye Bridge the toll free bridge to the Isle of Skye
About 10 years ago, the Garden State Parkway removed half the tollbooth areas, and doubled the price at the remaining ones.