All New York Thruway Toll Booths To Be Removed by the End of Summer

Tollbooths on the Thruway have been a familiar sight for the last 66 years, but the days of seeing them are coming to an end.

Obviously, the big change came last year when the Thruway went to all cashless tolls and an automated system that would bill you for your tolls either through EZ Pass or by your license plate. Now the remnants of the old system are being erased from the Thruway.  Some toll booths were dismantled and removed last year and others are slated to be removed this year.

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The fact that the toll booths have remained standing even after switching to the new automated system has caused some confusion and slowdowns, especially for out-of-towners. I don't know how many times I've been on the Thruway and started to slow down to go through the old toll booths and there's some out-of-state car stopped at a booth trying to figure out if they need to pay or get a ticket. To say it's frustrating would be an understatement. Plus, it's really dangerous.

Tollbooth removal and construction is scheduled to go on throughout the spring and summer with all 52 toll plazas removed by the end of summer. That will create a Trueway that is safer, faster, and free-flowing. Plus, it will cut down on those slowdowns that create choke points during your commute.

Here's the list of local toll booths plazas that are going to be removed this year.

• Exit B2 (Berkshire Spur – Taconic Pkwy)
• Exit 23 (Albany – I-787)
• Exit 25A (Rotterdam — I-88)
• Exit 34A (Syracuse – I-481)
• Exit 47 (LeRoy – I-490)
• Exit 48 (Batavia)
• Canaan Toll Barrier (Booths removed in Nov. 2020)