A new Sacred Heart University poll shows 51.3 percent of Connecticut voters back tolls, with 8 percent undecided.

The poll asked if residents would support electronic tolling if the state guaranteed funds would go into a transportation lockbox, ensuring funds would only be spent on transportation infrastructure improvements.

Nearly 29 percent said they “strongly support” the idea, while 22.4 percent said they “somewhat support” the idea. Almost 46 percent of residents earning $100,000 to $150,000 and 45.3 percent of those earning $150,000 or more preferred “instituting tolls” over “borrowing funds” (22.8 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively) to pay for infrastructure improvements. Just under half of of Democrats preferred “instituting tolls” to pay for infrastructure improvements compared to only 20.9 percent of Republicans reporting the same.

The combined online and phone survey of 1,000 Connecticut residents was conducted between May 10 and May 23 and has a margin of error 3.02 percent.

A March SHU poll found Connecticut residents opposed “implementing electronic tolling on major highways in the state” by a 24.3 percentage point margin. At the same time, 36.2 percent of residents were more likely to support the tolling initiative if the state guaranteed that funds would go into the transportation lockbox. Another 15.1 percent remained likely to support regardless of funds going into the state’s lockbox, for a total of 51.3 percent. Seven percent of respondents said they were unsure.

While Gov. Ned Lamont had urged lawmakers to pass a tolling bill before the regular session adjourns, days after urging the General Assembly to focus on the budget, it appears likely the contentious issue will be addressed in a special session.