Provided by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission:
A rendering of the new bridge.
Credit: DRJBC
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) on Monday approved a full schedule of tolls to be charged – in the southbound direction only – at the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge (I-95) when the first span of the new bridge opens to traffic in 2019.
The Commission also approved a clarification in the cash toll rates the agency currently charges for recreational vehicles (RVs) whenever they have a trailer or passenger vehicle in tow. This change – expected to take effect on or before March 1, 2017 – will ensure that future cash toll transactions for recreational vehicles with a trailer or passenger vehicle in tow will be charged at the same rate — $4 per axle — as is currently being charged in E-ZPass transactions involving the same vehicle combinations.
However, the Commissioners discarded a third toll adjustment proposal that would have reclassified a dual-wheel rear-axle pickup truck below eight feet high (dually) as a Class 2/light truck instead of the current Class 1/passenger vehicle designation, a change that would have increased the toll from $1 to $6.50. Commissioners said they were persuaded to bypass the proposed dually/dualie change based on public input they received during a toll hearing/public comment process conducted during the past three months.
Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge Toll Rates
The primary toll adjustment consideration for Commissioners today was the establishment of a toll schedule to be charged at the new bridge that is slated to replace the current functionally obsolete Scudder Falls Bridge linking Ewing, NJ and Lower Makefield. Tolls at the new bridge will be collected via an all-electronic tolling (AET) system of E-ZPass tag readers and high-resolution cameras. Cash will not be collected at the new facility through a conventional toll booth plaza.
The base toll for an E-ZPass-equipped passenger vehicle crossing the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge will be $1.25. Frequent commuters who make 16 tolled crossings in a respective month across Commission toll bridges will qualify for an automatic 40-percent discount — 75 cents per tolled trip — provided the transactions are recorded on the same DRJTBC-affiliated E-ZPass transponder.
(A DRJTBC-affiliated E-ZPass is any transponder issued by the New Jersey E-ZPass Group, which provides customer service and violations processing for the DRJTBC, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority [NJTA], the Delaware River Port Authority [DRPA], the Delaware River & Bay Authority [DRBA], the South Jersey Transportation Authority [SJTA] and the Burlington County Bridge Commission [BCBC]).
Passenger vehicles without E-ZPass will have images of their license plates captured by one of the high-speed cameras mounted to the AET tolling gantry that is planned to be constructed in the southbound direction on the Pennsylvania side of the replacement bridge. The registered owner of the vehicle will receive an invoice for all trips made through the Scudder Falls tolling point in a given billing period. The passenger vehicle Toll-by-Plate toll will be $2.60 per trip. The higher toll is applied to cover the additional costs of processing non-E-ZPass transactions.
Two different per-axle base rates will be charged for trucks and other non-passenger vehicles.
The base E-ZPass rate for light trucks – two-axle vehicles eight feet or above in height – will be $3.50 per axle. For heavy trucks – vehicles with three or more axles – the base E-ZPass rate will be $4.25.
The Toll-by-Plate toll for two-axle trucks eight feet or above in height will be $8.35. The Toll-by-Plate rate for heavy trucks will be $4.75 per axle.
As is the case at the Commission’s seven existing toll bridge, a 10-percent discount will be applied for trucks paying tolls with a commercial E-ZPass tag during off-peak hours (9:01 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.).
The current Scudder Falls Bridge is a non-tolled/toll-supported crossing. The Commission in December 2009 announced that the new bridge will be operated as a tolled crossing. That decision subsequently has been upheld on three occasions by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The full toll schedule that was approved for the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge may be accessed directly at www.drjtbc.org/scuddertolls. The toll schedule was posted on the Commission’s website on July 8 and has remained available ever since in accordance with the Commission’s 2013 Toll Adjustment Public Hearing and Comment Policy (R:2327-07-13 FIN-0207-13).
Effective Date of Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge Toll Schedule
Under the approved toll schedule, tolls at the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge will be charged once the new bridge’s upstream span opens to traffic and its corresponding AET collection system has been successfully implemented, tested, and made operational. That start date is currently projected for some time in early 2019.
Although the major construction contract still needs to be awarded, the multi-faceted regional transportation project currently is on a track to break ground sometime during the first half of 2017. The total program cost for the entire project is currently estimated at $439 million.
More project information is available at www.scudderfallsbridge.com. A video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_8BEokUrw.
Approved Change to Existing Toll Structure – RVs with a Trailer or Vehicle in Tow
Under the toll adjustment resolution approved today, the Commission also clarified what the cash toll rate should be when an RV with a trailer or vehicle in tow crosses one of the Commission’s seven current toll bridges: Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1), New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202), I-78, Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), Portland-Columbia, Delaware Water Gap (I-80), and Milford-Montague (Route 206).
The Commission’s toll structure is based primarily on rolling axles and vehicle size. This has resulted in disparate rates between cash and E-ZPass transactions for instances when an RV has either a trailer or vehicle in tow.
The accompanying toll table is to be applied regardless of whether payment is made electronically through E-ZPass or manually in cash through a toll attendant at one of the Commission’s seven existing toll bridges. The rates in the table are what the Commission currently charges in E-ZPass transactions for the identified vehicular tandems.
|
Example |
Classification |
Per-Axle Rate |
Toll |
|
Two-Axle RV with |
Class 3 (3 rolling axles) |
$4.00 |
$12 |
|
Two-Axle RV with |
Class 4 (4 rolling axles) |
$4.00 |
$16 |
|
Three-Axle RV with |
Class 4 (4 rolling axles) |
$4.00 |
$16 |
|
Three-Axle RV with |
Class 5 (5 rolling axles) |
$4.00 |
$20 |
Note: In any subsequent larger configurations of RVs and trailers/vehicles in tow, a toll rate of $4 per axle is to be charged.
This cash transaction clarification conforms with prevailing tolling industry practices and brings the Commission’s vehicle classifications for tolling purposes in step with the region’s other toll systems – the PA and NJ Turnpikes, DRPA, and SJTA, among others.
The approved adjustment for recreational vehicles with cars or trailers in tow may be accessed at www.drjtbc.org/2016adjustments.
Proposed Dually Toll Adjustment Rejected
In the course of approving the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge toll schedule and the toll adjustment for cash transactions involving RVs with trailers or vehicles in tow, the Commission rejected an additional proposal to reclassify a dual-wheel rear-axle pickup truck below eight feet high as a Class 2/light truck instead of the current Class 1/passenger vehicle classification.
Like cash transactions for RVs with a trailer or vehicle in tow, this adjustment would have applied to the current toll schedule for the Commission seven existing toll bridges. Under the proposal, the toll on a dually truck would have risen to $6.50 from the current $1 toll.
The Commissioners decision to forgo the dually classification change was based largely on public comments the agency received as part of a public hearing/comment process the Commission conducted in recent months on the proposed toll adjustments. The process was conducted in accordance with the Commission’s 2013 Toll Adjustment Public Hearing and Comment Policy (R:2327-07-13 FIN-0207-13).
Members of the public urged the Commissioners to keep a dually at the Class 1/passenger vehicle rate of $1. Among the comments the public relayed to Commissioners were: some people use the vehicles for commuting/personal purposes, the additional charge for two additional wheels on the same axle was unjustified, and the 550-percent rate increase was excessive.
As a result of this outcome, the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge toll schedule was changed accordingly as well.
