Dade Expressway Authority Approves Toll Increases

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Tolls will be going up for millions of drivers in Miami-Dade.

The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) voted Tuesday night to increase tolls by 70 cents. The board said the millions raised by the increases will go toward maintaining the roadway system.

Part of the upgrade would be the elimination of toll booths on State Road 836. The roadway will go electric with SunPass or toll by plate. That's great news for drivers as it will ease bottlenecks that occur at the current tolling locations.

The bad news is that drivers will pay a lot more tolls a lot more often.

Tolls now are only collected eastbound on State Road 112, eastbound on the 836 near Miami, and both ways out in western Miami-Dade. Under the new proposal, tolls will be collected at no fewer than 16 new locations scattered all over both expressways. Everyone will pay no matter how short a distance they travel.

The new tolls on SR 836 would amount to 54 percent increase.  Over the next 30 years, the new tolls would generate more than $500 million in additional revenue.