Driver blames tunnel tolls for lack of business growth in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — As it happens yearly, the tolls are set to go up at the Elizabeth River crossings — specifically, the Midtown and Downtown tunnels.

Downtown, Midtown tunnel tolls to increase in 2025

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, drivers can expect an increase of 17 cents during peak travel hours, a smaller increase than the one we saw this last January. But drivers believe it's actually hurting the spread of business to Portsmouth and points south.

The increase next year sees drivers, with an E-ZPass, paying $3.23 next year during peak hours — that's 5:30 to 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 to 7:00 p.m. That's up from $3.06 from this year. During non-peak hours drivers will pay $2.34, up from $2.26. And you'll pay even more if you don't have an E-ZPass.

One driver who didn't want to be identified said he blames the toll for the lack of business growth on this side of Hampton Roads.

"Then people don't want to come on this side because of it," he said. "So now you're hindering commerce to come in, but people don't want to go out. That's not fair."

Tim MacCartney runs Service Solutions for IT, an IT recycling business out of Portsmouth and drives all over Hampton Roads. And though there are tolls on other bridges in town, the Midtown and the Downtown tunnels are the ones he uses most.

"I have three of these trucks," he said. "I go through there four, five, six, seven, eight, nine times, 10 times a day. I've got to pass that cost on to somebody. I hate to do it."

Fireman/EMT James Quinn drives each day from Virginia Beach to the Naval hospital in Portsmouth. He said $2.34 is a lot for some to pay twice a day — so he finds ways around it.

"I take George Washington [Highway] all the way down to get on in Chesapeake and go around Chesapeake ... so I avoid the tolls," Quinn said.

And while this year's increase is lower — the increase from 2023 to 2024 was 29 cents during peak hours — many say that, with other things like gas and groceries also high, any increase is another blow.

There is a toll relief program available to certain drivers. You can find out more about it by clicking .