Ever since the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge was replaced in the mid-1990s, residents of the Middle Peninsula have been paying tolls on the project with little hope they will be removed anytime soon, if ever.

With recent information coming down from the state legislature, drivers over the bridge can expect to continue paying those tolls at least through 2030.

The matter popped up at a Gloucester County Board of Supervisors meeting Oct. 16 in the colonial courthouse, when County Administrator Brenda Garton said she had been asked to look into the matter.

Garton said she contacted Del. Keith Hodges (R-Middlesex) who said he and his staff had done some research on the question why the tolls are remaining on the Coleman Bridge.

Garton said Hodges reported the original bonds on the bridge project were in the vicinity of $100 million. "There’s $26 million still left on that original bond issue," she said, "and those bonds will be retired in 2021."

She said Hodges also ...