GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — Construction is already underway and by this spring, the state said drivers should no longer have to stop at a toll booth as they enter or leave Grand Island.

"You're just going to drive right over the bridge," Supervisor Nate McMurray, D, said.

While cashless tolling is already up and running in New York City, the Western New York bridges will be the first to utilize the technology in Upstate New York.

"We were proud to be chosen to do this first. We think it will improve traffic flow. It will cut down on pollution. It will improve the entire situation dramatically," McMurray said.

It appears Grand Island won't hold the distinction for long though. In his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced by 2020 he expects operational cashless tolls throughout the state Thruway system.

"It only makes sense that we would take that technology that's so successful in New York City and institute it and employ it upstate, so I was glad to hear that he's doing that," McMurray said.

Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins was among a bipartisan group of politicians from Western New York who this summer called for the expansion of cashless tolls.

"We were confident that given that the technology is in fact available, it would make sense for the state to move ambitiously toward an implementation and that's what's occurring," Higgins said.

In Grand Island, McMurray said the project has created new construction jobs, but there are questions about what exactly will happen to toll-takers.

"Whenever you institute new technology, it's a concern, whether it's on an assembly line or tolls. I mean new technology can take away jobs. But what I understand, at this point, is that we are, or the state is, going to try to find new jobs within the thruway system for those employees," he said.

Higgins said the same concerns are present statewide, but he believes the 2020 goal gives the thruway authority time to figure out how to mitigate the impact.