Quoted:

But still... why the speed traps in the middle of bumfuck new york?

Revenue – Passenger and commercial tolls account for about 95 percent of Thruwaygenerated
revenues, with the remainder coming from concession payments and interest
earnings on Thruway funds. Over the five-year period between 1997 and 2002, revenue
grew by 3.4 percent annually on average. In the next five-year period, including the toll
increase adopted in 2005, Thruway revenue grew by 5.2 percent annually on average.

Following the toll increases beginning in 2008, Thruway-generated revenue has grown by
3.4 percent annually on average.
The Thruway Authority is currently planning to increase tolls for commercial users
(excluding two-axle trucks) by an average of 45 percent. The Authority has described the
increase, which would generate an estimated $371 million in new revenue from October
2012 through 2016, as “modest.”
The difference between Thruway-generated revenues and expenses is made up
principally with federal aid and bond proceeds. Federal aid has dropped sharply in recent
years, falling to zero in 2011. During the period from 2002 through 2007, federal aid
averaged $40.7 million a year.

Debt Service – Since 1992, when the Legislature and the Governor decided to continue Thruway tolls after the original bonds were repaid, the Thruway has issued General Revenue Bonds on nine separate occasions (1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, twice in 2005, 2007, and 2012). Some of the early proceeds from these bonds were used to refinance the $84.5 million debt remaining from the Thruway?s original bonds, which had been scheduled to be paid off in 1996.2
The Thruway Authority has relied heavily on debt to support its capital program. Annual debt service payments have been steadily climbing in recent years and will continue to do so in the near future. This is a result of the capital needs associated with maintaining the Authority?s aging infrastructure, as well as a decline in the use of current resources (pay-as-you-go) to finance the Thruway Authority?s capital program. The portion of the Thruway capital program financed on a pay-as-you-go basis declined significantly, from nearly 60 percent to less than 20 percent, from 2005 to 2011.
The Thruway currently has $3.28 billion in outstanding General Revenue Bonds.3 Annual debt service payments were $93 million in 2002, and have risen since to reach $181.9 million in 2011. The Thruway estimates that by 2016 debt service costs will climb to $312.4 million, a 72 percent increase in just five years and a 236 percent increase since 2002. These figures exclude the costs associated with the replacement of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge.


Paying back its debt consumes an increasing share of Thruway expenses. Debt service
accounted for 17 percent of Thruway Authority spending on average between 2002 and
2011. The Thruway projects that its debt service costs will jump to 23.9 percent on
average in the five years from 2012 to 2016, reaching 25.2 percent in the final year of the
current plan.
It is clear that debt, which is one means to finance capital spending, has become a
driving force in the Thruway?s budget. Toll increases now largely go to meet debt
obligations, rather than current and future needs. Dramatically increasing debt service
costs are placing a greater burden on the Thruway Authority and are contributing to its
fiscal stress. As with the State as a whole, the Thruway?s heavy reliance on debt has put
it in a position of having limited flexibility to address its capital investment and operational
needs.