Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Revised Delaware Memorial Bridge toll hike approved

Photo courtesy: Delaware River and Bay Authority

A second version of a Delaware Memorial Bridge Toll hike was approved by the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) Commission Wednesday.

 

Starting May 1, passenger cars and small trucks will pay $5 to cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge, $1 more than the current rate. Commercial vehicle tolls will increase $2 per axle.

But under the revised plan, New Jersey and Delaware EZ-Pass users will get a 25-cent discount, and a one-dollar increase to the Frequent Traveler rate will be phased in over several years.

The changes were added after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed the toll hike last month. The original toll hike was approved by the DRBA board in December and slated to go into effect March 1.

In a statement, Murphy called the new proposal “more fair to commuters.”

The revised toll hike plan raises an additional $32 million in toll revenue annually.  The original plan would have raised $34 million.

The added revenue will help fund DRBA’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan, which includes steelwork repairs to the bridge, suspension rope replacement, and a repowering program for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

The budget for these and other improvements has been reduced by about $24 million as a result of the changes to the toll increase.

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
Related Content