The Delaware River and Bay Authority Commissioners recently adopted its 2026 Capital Improvement Program and a five-year strategic plan for its facilities.
The program is allocating over $161 million to improve infrastructure within the DRBA.
Those projects include a new Cape May-Lewes Ferry vessel which will cost over $71 million over the next five years with federal grants funding over $25 million.
New electronic tolling at the Delaware Memorial Bridge is also on the way. The bridge moves to all electronic tolling or cashless tolling already seen on Delaware’s major roads and in surrounding states.
"Our current toll collection system has served its useful life, and we need to upgrade. Technology changes weekly. That system there is roughly 10 years old so we're looking to upgrade the system no matter if we went to all electronic toll or not,” said DRBA Public Information Officer Jim Salmon. “Either way you're heading to a new toll system here at the bridge."
That project will cost $34 million over the next four years.
The bridge will also see new fall prevention fencing and wind protection with the installation of anti-climb mesh fencing on both spans to protect against extremely high winds. That will cost just over $5 million to complete this year.
The DRBA will also widen the northbound bridge on I-295 north over Route 13 leading to the Delaware Memorial Bridge at the cost of $22 million over the next five years according to Salmon.
"We're going to be undertaking a widening of the northbound bridge over Route 13 on 295 north that needs repair, and it needs to be widened. That'll take place over the next few years," said Salmon.
The DRBA also earmarked over $4 million this year for passenger parking expansion at Wilmington Airport and over $2.7 million for hangar repairs.
