Big-Rig Drivers Brace For Huge Toll Hikes On Bay Area Bridges
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) - Tolls on San Francisco Bay area bridges are going up for big-rig trucks.
Starting Friday, five-axle big-rigs will pay $18 -- up from $11.25 -- to cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Benicia, Carquinez, Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges. A year from now, the toll for those trucks will rise to $25.
On the Golden Gate Bridge, big rigs will pay $22 -- up from $15 -- starting Friday. The toll on the Golden Gate will climb to $30 a year from now.
Although the rate hikes do not affect two-axle cars, cars towing trailers will also pay higher tolls.
Bay Area Toll Authority officials, who are responsible for the seven bridges other than the Golden Gate, said the increase is needed in part to pay for seismic retrofits.
(Copyright 2011 by CBSSan Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)