Gov. Healey Rejects Toll Proposal for Cape Cod Bridges

On Wednesday, April 30, Gov. Maura Healey rejected a proposal to charge tolls on Cape Cod's bridges after an official suggested the idea earlier during the week of April 28.

Mashpee Select Board Vice Chair David Weeden brought up the bridges at a meeting on Monday, April 28.

"I'd advocate for tolls to be imposed at the bridges," Weeden stated in a report by the Cape Cod Times. "Over 35 million vehicles come across those two bridges combined annually. Even if you did $2 an axle, only calculating cars, you'd bring in about $70 million a year. That money should be earmarked specifically to leverage [state revolving fund] funds and go towards coastal and water quality issues."

Weeden added that Massachusetts benefits from tourism on Cape Cod and believes that the state should tap into this built-in base of visitation dollars.

When asked about the proposed idea at the State House on Wednesday, April 30, Healey immediately dismissed it.

"I don't support the tolls on the bridges," she said in comments to the Cape Cod Times. "I hope to make continued progress on the bridges. That's been something that we've prioritized to move ahead on. But no tolls on the bridges."

Healey addressed her administration's work to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges. The Healey administration has identified 2027 as the beginning date for the bridge work, starting with the Sagamore Bridge. Massachusetts has obtained only half of the dual-bridge project's replacement cost of more than $4.5 billion.