In 1852 the Trustees' powers were renewed by Act of Parliament which also allowed for additional tolls for vehicles "drawn by steam or machinery". Twenty years later, in 1872, a law was passed allowing the trustees and owners of turnpikes and toll-bridges to surrender their rights to the local highway authority. Bridge traffic had been declining since the opening of the Reading to Oxford Railway in 1844 so the Trustees immediately made arrangements to pass the bridge to the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. From midnight on 1 November 1874 tolls were permanently lifted.