Toll booth plazas will soon be a thing of the past at the bridges and tunnels that connect the Garden State to New York.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that cash tolls will be phased out at the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels by 2021. The crossings will join the Staten Island bridges in relying on an open-road tolling system.

Tolls will be collected through E-ZPass or by mailing bills to cars through license plate readers.

The upgrades will cost the bi-state agency $240 million. Officials say the move will reduce traffic congestion at the bottle-necking plazas. The agency estimates that there will be 975 fewer crashes every year as a result of this plan.

“Today’s action will complete our efforts to bring all of our tolling facilities up to 21st century standards, while reducing travel times and toll plaza delay, improving safety and reducing vehicle emissions from idling cars,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said Thursday.

The plan is to have the open-road tolling start late next year at the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, early 2021 at the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken and the middle of 2021 at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee.

The Goethals Bridge between Elizabeth and Staten Island goes cashless this summer.

Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.

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