Delaware Water Gap (I-80)
Toll Bridge

The Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge carries Interstate 80 across the Delaware River near Stroudsburg, PA. The bridge serves an important gateway function, connecting eastern metropolitan areas with Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountain tourist destinations and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area along both sides of the river to the north.

Cash collections at the toll-booth area ended in January 2025, making it an all-electronic tolling point handling cashless E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATE license-plate billings transactions. E-ZPass rates are significantly lower than TOLL BY PLATE rates due to higher costs associated with license-plate billing.

Bridge dedicated and opened: Dec. 16, 1953.  This was the fourth of the Commission’s eight toll bridges to be constructed.

This is the Commission’s longest bridge — 2,465 feet.

Original construction cost: $7,855,000

Construction started: October 1951

Bridge info: Dual parallel 16-span riveted steel multi-girder structures, each approximately 2,465-feet long. The upstream structure carries traffic in the westbound (PA-bound) direction. The downstream structure carries traffic in the eastbound (NJ-bound) direction. The downstream structure also has a five-foot-wide walkway, which is the Appalachian Trail connection between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The bridge’s supporting piers and abutments are reinforced concrete with granite facings. Piers are circular columns with a taper into the river flow and cantilevered caps. Piers in the riverbed are supported on steel pilings. Other piers, the abutments, and curtain walls of cellular spans are supported on concrete bed footings. The bridge’s roadways are 59 feet above normal water level.

PA abutment location: Borough of Delaware Water Gap, PA.

NJ abutment location: Hardwick Township, N.J. (Pahaquarry Township was the original name of the New Jersey’s abutment’s location. Pahaquarry was dissolved in 1997 and folded into adjoining Hardwick Township.)

Roadway connections: The bridge originally carried U.S. 611 between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  This roadway designation was changed to I-80 when Pennsylvania completed its first I-80 segment – from Exit 308 to 310 – in 1960.  The New Jersey approach segment also was changed from U.S. 611 to I-80 at this time.

Toll plaza: The original toll plaza on the Pennsylvania side had eight toll booths and 10 lanes. Automatic token and coin collection machines were introduced in 1971. Tolls were collected in both directions until 1989, when the facility was converted to one-way toll collection in the PA-bound direction. The facility now has five toll-booth lanes (no cash service) and an adjoining single-lane Express E-ZPass/Open Road Tolling facility.

First full year of traffic (1954):  2,185,721 vehicles; average 5,988 vehicles per day.

2023 traffic: 18,406,802 vehicles; average 50,429 vehicles per day.

Speed limit: 50 MPH

Last rehabilitation: 2011