Decades after San Luis Pass bridge was paid off, Galveston County leaders vote to remove toll

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- In weeks, you won't have to worry if you have cash on you if you drive a stretch in Galveston County.

Behind each squeaky deposit, there's a reason why drivers pay to cross a Galveston County bridge.

"I run over to the UTMB," Marvin Williams explained. "That's why I use this."

"I live in Surfside," Renee Crawford said. "My sister lives in Galveston. So, we come back and forth all the time."

"We're going now just to go shopping," Yvonne Pharis said. "Just because we're bored."

No matter the reason, one thing's the same: each has to pay to cross the San Luis Pass Bridge. "$2 is not that bad anyways," Williams said. "You run up to the tollways in Houston, you're going to pay a lot more than $2."

It may not seem like a lot of money, but over time, it adds up.

"I would say in a year, a good $80 to $100 bucks in a year," Pharis explained.

It is money that drivers will soon no longer need to throw in the old metal container much longer. On Monday, Galveston County commissioners unanimously voted to end the toll.

The item was placed there by Commissioner Joe Giusti. He told ABC13 he got the idea to look closer at the toll when Gulf Freeway construction caused backups on the island's west end because of the toll.

Giusti said the toll generates $500,000 a year. More than half of that goes to toll staff salaries.

He said the six workers will be offered other county positions. County leaders say another reason for the decision is the toll was paid off the bridge 40 years ago.

"My dad used to complain that when he was young, and this was built, they told him once it was paid off, it was going to be gone, and a hundred years later, it's still going," Stephanie Thomas said.

It won't be for much longer. Officials plan to end it by mid-May. Although the toll is going away, it may not stay that way forever.

The county's looking to build a new $100 million bridge. County leaders applied for a TxDOT grant to try and get 80% covered that way.

The county would still be on the hook for more than $20 million. It's possible to help pay for it, the county could add a toll when it's completed.

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