The Dept. of Transportation has denied the American Automobile Association’s request to oppose the recently enacted Hudson River toll hikes. AAA, which is still pursuing legal action related to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s toll and fare increases, maintains that revenues from the increases should not be used for projects outside of the PANYNJ transportation network, including the World Trade Center.
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood says that since congress passed the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act in 1987, the agency no longer has “oversight of tolls on interstate bridges over navigable waters,” but that “the ‘just and reasonable’ requirement for toll increases remains in effect,” AAA says in a statement.