Getting in Last Coin Toss for The Road

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THE JULY 4th weekend in 1978 included a true Independence Day for motorists who used the Southern State Parkway. That was the weekend that tolls were removed from the roadway after 24 years.

Tolls were introduced in 1954 in connection with an improvement project for the parkway. Initially 10 cents, the toll later went up to a quarter. After years of lobbying by Long Island officials, toll booths on the Southern State and the Loop Parkway from Jones Beach to Point Lookout were removed in 1978.