Three Delaware River toll bridges to stop taking cash in June. How NJ drivers can prepare
Three of the four northernmost toll bridges across the Delaware River will stop accepting cash at their toll plazas effective June 17, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced on Monday.
Tolls after that will be payable only via E-Z Pass or through a pay-by-plate system for the Portland-Columbia bridge in Warren County, the New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) span in Hunterdon and the Milford-Montague bridge, which carries Route 206 from Sussex County into northeastern Pennsylvania.
The bridges charge for motorists leaving New Jersey for Pennsylvania, but not for those entering the Garden State. Cash service will end at 11 p.m. on June 16, the commission said, and toll booths on all three spans will be closed.
The commission's other five bridges, including the Route 80 crossing of the Delaware River, won't be affected, but the agency says cashless tolls are coming to those bridges by January.
E-ZPass, Toll by Plate will be only options
E-Z Pass uses a transponder whose signal is read as a vehicle moves through the toll area. With the "plate" option, photographs are taken as a driver moves through the plaza, allowing an electronic system to access a vehicle's registration and then send a bill to the owner by mail.
E-ZPass is cheaper, charging vehicles $1.50 per trip across the river; the toll-by-plate option costs twice as much, reflecting the higher administrative costs of the system, the commission said.
Beginning June 17, there will no longer be any attendants and toll booth doors and windows will be closed. In addition, some of those booth lanes will be closed. Open lanes will handle both payment methods.
The payment process for E-ZPass users will remain unchanged.
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How to avoid late fees
However, for non-E-ZPass-equipped vehicles, the registered owner will be sent an invoice after 30 days or once the recorded tolled trips on a vehicle exceed $50, whichever comes first.
If payment is not received by the deadline, a second bill is generated with an additional $5 toll bill late fee. Failure to pay the second billing, results in a $30 administration fee for each overdue toll transaction. Should the new escalated amount owed remain, a second notice is sent, and, if that is unpaid, the bill will be forwarded to a collection agency, the bridge commission said.
An E-ZPass account can be established on-line at www.ezpassnj.com. Questions or assistance, is available through customer service at 800-363-0049.
Currently, 93% of traffic using the New Hope-Lambertville bridge has E-ZPass with usage at Portland-Columbia at 86% and 84% at Milford-Montague, the commission said.
When will other Delaware River bridges go cashless?
The I-80 bridge in Delaware Water Gap, as well as the Trenton-Morrisville and; I-78 bridge between Easton and Phillipsburg will continue handle cash transactions but are expected to convert to cashless all-electronic tolling by January with a specific date to be announced later this year.
The Scudder Falls Toll Bridge has been a fully cashless operation since its first span opened in 2019.
Once all cash-taking booths are converted, the process to build highway-speed, all-electronic tolling gantries at each of the bridges will begin. The current schedule has that conversion going one-bridge-per-year through 2032.
The Commission was formed in 1934 and now operates a dozen toll bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania north of Philadelphia. Funding for operations, maintenance and upkeep of its bridges and related transportation facilities comes from revenues collected at the toll bridges.
Email: bscruton@njherald.com Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: No cash at three NJ Delaware River toll bridges in June
