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Paying a toll to a person will become a thing of the past next year. (Advance file photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Beginning next summer, drivers will no longer go through toll booths to pay for crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, as the MTA is rolling out a new cashless toll paying system.

The initiative pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, called open road tolling, will place sensors and cameras over the highway to read E-ZPass tags and take photos of license plates so vehicles won't have to stop to pay the toll. They will be automatically charged like they are now.

Cars without E-ZPass tags will have their license plates recorded and a bill mailed to the registered owner of each vehicle every 30 days.

Those drivers will pay the cash rate.

Open road tolling will be completed at all MTA bridges and tunnels by the end of 2017. The schedule is as follows:

Hugh L. Carey Tunnel - January 2017

Queens Midtown Tunnel - January 2017

Rockaway Bridges - Spring 2017

RFK Bridge - Summer 2017

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge - Summer 2017

Throgs Neck Bridge - Fall 2017

Bronx-Whitestone Bridge - Fall 2017

"Open road tolling streamlines commutes, reduces inconvenience, and, along with bolstered security measures and new LED lighting and art, reimagines New York's crossings as part of our infrastructure overhaul to meet the needs of current and future generations of New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "This project is a transformative investment in our future that revolutionizes statewide transportation and helps us build a new New York."

To ensure that all users of MTA bridges and tunnels pay the tolls, as well as to bolster counter-terrorism efforts, 150 state troopers are being deployed at key checkpoints.

Beginning in January, a vehicle owner's registration will be suspended for three toll violations over the course of five years.

In mid-February, MTA regulations that increase fines for skipping tolls will go into effect.

Beginning in February 2017, the violation fee will be increased to $100 at the Robert F. Kennedy, Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges and the Queens Midtown and Hugh L. Carey Tunnels. The violation fee will remain $50 at the Marine Parkway, Cross Bay and Henry Hudson Bridges. For commercial vehicles, failure to pay toll fees in the amount of $200 or more within five-year period will also result in registration suspensions.

The MTA estimates the open road tolling will save commuters up to 21 hours of driving time every year. It will also reduce emissions and fuel burned by drivers, who now stop and wait to pay the toll.

"These improvements will enhance traffic flow, reduce congestion, and decrease commute times, making it safer for New Yorkers to get where they need to go," MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said. "The accelerated schedule we are undertaking to modernize all of our facilities in 2017 underscores the governor's commitment to investing in New York's transportation network to meet the needs of a growing city."