Speeding through a construction zone on the MTA’s bridges and tunnels will soon mean automatic fines mailed to more drivers with the expansion of a state speed camera program.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany lawmakers agreed late Thursday to expand a pilot program of speed cameras targeting construction zones to the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels, which handle more than 329 million vehicle crossings each year, as part of the state’s $254 billion budget deal passed by the Legislature, according to Hochul’s office and transit officials.
New York will charge drivers who exceed the roughly 30 mph speed limit on the city crossings — including the Queens Midtown Tunnel, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge — a $50 fine for their first violation. The second comes with a $75 fee and a $100 fine for the third and any subsequent infractions within an 18-month period of the first, according to the state budget agreement. Revenue raised through the fines will go back to the MTA’s bridge and tunnel authority, mostly to pay for worker safety programs. The speed camera initiative seeks to improve road safety by deterring drivers from zipping through work sites and injuring road workers, said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan.
“We want to make sure that our maintenance workers and contractors are safe, and this is another tool to accomplish that,” said Sheridan in a Friday statement to Crain’s.
The law expanding the speed program takes effect immediately; the state’s Department of Transportation did not not share a timeline of when cameras will be in place on MTA bridges and tunnels to issue tickets. Hochul initially signed the five-year pilot program, formally called the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement initiative, into law in September 2021 to help slow motorists in construction zones. Since the program began issuing fines in May 2023, the state has mailed more than 425,000 tickets to motorists for speeding in work zones, including to more than 38,000 repeat offenders.
The governor’s office says the program has shown signs of progress over the years with fewer tickets being issued in hotspots throughout the state, meaning that people are slowing due to the cameras. But state data shows that crashes in work zones remain a stubborn problem.
In 2024, roughly 156 crashes occurred in construction zones on state roads, causing one death and 30 injuries; the leading cause of crashes includes distracted driving, unsafe lane changes and a disregard for traffic warning signs, according to the state DOT
“Our dedicated highway maintenance and construction workers routinely work in hazardous conditions so that the rest of us can get where we need to go, safely,” said state DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez in a statement. “That is why I urge all motorists to put down your phones, slow down, and pay attention, especially in work zones. Lives are at stake.”
