Daily Press reports, “Portsmouth and Norfolk residents who make less than $30,000 a year will soon be able to qualify for a discount on Midtown and Downtown tunnel tolls, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Monday [October 24]. To qualify for the 75 cent toll discount, drivers must also have an E-Z Pass and make at least eight trips through the tunnels per month, VDOT spokeswoman Paula Miller said.” The report adds, “Elizabeth River Crossings will pay $500,000 a year for 10 years to help offset the costs of tolls. The announcement is part of the governor’s larger plan to reduce the financial impact of construction projects on Hampton Roads drivers.”
The Virginian-Pilot adds, “[Governor] McAuliffe has been an outspoken critic of the ‘crippling tolls’ used to finance the tunnel deal made by his predecessor. Last year, the state agreed to pay $78 million to keep tolls off the Martin Luther King Freeway Extension, slated for completion by the end of the year.”