Yorktown, Virginia – In a move set to deliver significant economic relief to thousands of Virginians, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that toll collection on the Route 17 George P. Coleman Bridge will end on the evening of August 8, 2025—almost five months earlier than the original January 1, 2026 deadline. This early removal follows the General Assembly’s approval of Governor Youngkin’s budget amendment, which called for the elimination of tolls on the bridge.
“Eliminating tolls on the Coleman Bridge is more than just a financial decision, it’s a commitment to easing the burden on families, commuters, and local businesses who rely on this vital connection every day,” said Governor Youngkin. “By removing this toll, we are putting nearly $60 million back into the pockets of hardworking Virginians, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money and strengthen our local economy.”
Economic and Practical Benefits for Commuters
The tolls, collected from northbound traffic traveling from York County to Gloucester County, currently generate almost $6 million annually—nearly half of which is spent solely on toll collection operations. The original bond debt from the 1996 bridge expansion has been fully repaid, but $29.6 million in remaining debt to the state’s Toll Facility Revolving Account would have required tolling through at least 2034, costing drivers more than $60 million.
Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III emphasized that continuing tolls would require replacing aging infrastructure at a cost of nearly $5 million. “There are extensive costs required to continue tolling, and we believe that the toll money collected would be better off in the hands of taxpayers,” Miller said…