High speed toll lanes pushed back from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving

DELAWARE WATER GAP - The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today announced that it is rescheduling its Delaware Water Gap (I-80) Toll Bridge Express E-ZPass/Open Road Tolling (ORT) Project.

The Commission announced last year that it would seek to have Express E-ZPass/ORT service up and running at the I-80 toll plaza by this year's Memorial Day weekend. Express E-ZPass/ORT allows E-ZPass users to pay their tolls while traveling at normal highway speeds by passing through an electronic array.

The agency recently rejected construction bids it received for the project, prompting Commission officials to reexamine when and how it should conduct the Express E-ZPass/ORT installation work.

"We remain committed to the goal of bringing Express E-ZPass service to the Delaware Water Gap toll plaza, but we will not be able to meet the Memorial Day goal that we set last year," said Frank G. McCartney, the DRJTBC's executive director. "Rather than start the construction project late and have it drag into the summer months, we have decided to postpone the work so any lane closures will occur after Labor Day. This new schedule will mitigate potential negative impacts to the region's seasonal tourism and recreational economy."

McCartney said the Commission is going to make every possible effort to have this improved toll-collection system available for motorists by Thanksgiving.

"This new deadline is still four years ahead of the time frame that was originally outlined in the 2006 Northerly Crossings Study," he said.

The Commission plans to install one Express E-ZPass/ORT Tolling lane at the toll plaza for the Delaware Water Gap (I-80) Toll Bridge, which carries I-80 across the Delaware River between Hardwick Township, N.J. and Delaware Water Gap Borough, PA. The facility's current toll plaza has eight lanes collecting tolls in the westbound direction on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge.

The project calls for the removal of the three left lanes at the toll plaza to make way for the single Express E-ZPass/ORT lane. The remaining five lanes at the conventional barrier toll plaza then would be reconfigured, replete with new signage.

The high toll-collection processing rate for Express E-ZPass/ORT - and additional changes to the existing toll plaza - would enable the Commission to process more vehicles than it currently can at the DWG/I-80 bridge. This technological solution will help mitigate some of the traffic congestion that occurs at this busy river crossing.