These bridges will help you save money on congestion pricing
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) – Commuters driving into Manhattan on Monday are bracing for the impact of congestion pricing.
Drivers are now charged a $9 toll during peak hours to enter Manhattan at and below 60th Street.
There are several free routes you can take if you're passing through Manhattan, but if you exit onto local roads at or below 60th Street, you will still be charged the toll.
Here are those routes:
Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn-bound cars can take the southbound FDR Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge without being charged. Drivers heading to Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge can take the northbound FDR Drive for free.
If you're driving from the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan and head for the southbound lanes of the FDR Drive, you will hit the street grid and get tolled.
Queensboro Bridge
Drivers heading from Queens to the Upper East Side can take the upper level of the Queensboro Bridge since it exits onto 62nd Street, which is right before the congestion pricing zone. If you continue to go south after 62nd Street, or take the lower level of the bridge into Manhattan, you will be charged.
Trips made entirely on the FDR Drive, West Side Highway and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street are excluded from the congestion pricing toll.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.