Toll price hikes on Bay Bridge, Harbor tunnels have drivers frustrated: "Not ideal"

BALTIMORE -- The Maryland Transportation Authority will be raising the tolls on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the Harbor tunnels in about three years.

It is not known how much more money drivers will have to dish out, but the increase is expected to start in 2027.

Drivers told WJZ they aren't happy with the toll price hike.

"It's definitely inconvenient," said Bridget Hislop, who drives through the Harbor Tunnel each day to get to work in Baltimore.

Hislop told WJZ she is paying more than $100 a month in EZ-Pass bills alone.

"Definitely not ideal for me to be having more expensive tolls," Hislop said.

Key Bridge collapse impact

The MDTA blames the price jump on the economic fallout from the Frances Scott Key Bridge collapse.

While drivers say they empathize with the bridge collapse, they don't think the financial impact of it should fall on their wallets. 

"Tolls, OK, where they are at, don't increase," said driver Bryant Claiborne. "You can always decrease, but don't increase."

Just how much more drivers will be paying is still in question as Congress remains stalled over a bill that would pay for the entire Key Bridge rebuild.

Drivers are currently paying anywhere from $3 to $6 to pass through both tunnels in Baltimore City and cross over the Bay Bridge in Annapolis. 

MDTA says they originally planned to increase prices in 2028 due in part to inflation.

But after losing revenue from the collapsed bridge, MDTA officials have no choice but to move it up a year.

Tolls are already too high

Drivers say the toll cost is already too high.

"The cost-of-living is already high, food, gas is high," Claiborne said. "Products are high, toilet paper is high, and then you're going to tax us once again on the bridge?" 

Transportation officials say the new bridge will cost at least $1.7 billion to rebuild, meaning the state's contribution could be at least $170 million.