First Completed Span of New Bridge Expected to Open to PA-Bound Traffic July 10; All-Electronic Toll Collections Set to Begin Early July 14
SCUDDER FALLS – As one of the last preparations for the anticipated July 14 onset of toll collections at the soon-to-open Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, the new bridge’s toll schedule has been added to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s public website.
The direct link to the Scudder Falls toll rates page is: http://www.drjtbc.org/travel-info/scudder-falls-toll-bridge-rates/.
The new page can be navigated to by going to the Commission’s website www.drjtbc.org, moving the cursor to the Travel Info drop down menu, and clicking on the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge Rates link under the Toll Rates heading.
The page is similarly designed to the existing Toll Rates page for the Commission’s seven existing toll bridges. Rates are listed by vehicle class with a corresponding definition of each respective toll rate class and images of various sample vehicles falling within each toll-rates class. There are then two columns depicting the corresponding E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATE transaction rates at the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge.
The toll rates for the new bridge were approved in September 2016 after six public hearings and a multi-month public-comment period. The rates have been listed on the tolling section of the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project website: www.scudderfallsbridge.com/tolling/. An informational video about the tolling system at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge also may be accessed on that page along with a list of frequently asked questions. The video may be directly viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYyL2ZJq5Bo.
The bridge’s E-ZPass rates are significantly lower than TOLL BY PLATE rates and the Commission is urging motorists to acquire E-ZPass to take advantage of the cost savings.
The first completed span of the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge is scheduled to open to two lanes of Pennsylvania-bound traffic on July 10. Motorists will be able to travel across the span free-of-charge for the first four days it is in operation, but a second after midnight on the morning of July 14, the new bridge’s All-Electronic Toll (AET) gantry will be brought online.
Tolls will be charged only on vehicles that travel in the PA-bound direction across the bridge. (Note: NJ-bound traffic is not expected to be shifted onto the new bridge until July 24 – at the earliest.) Tolls will be assessed as vehicles move at highway speeds beneath the gantry, which is outfitted with E-ZPass toll tag readers and high-resolution cameras to record the license plates of non-E-ZPass-equipped vehicles. Non-E-ZPass customers will receive TOLL BY PLATE invoices through the U.S. Mail. Cash will not be accepted – no toll booths – and motorists should not stop when going through the new tolling point.
Since the bridge primarily serves job commuters, the two prevailing toll rates are $1.25 for E-ZPass transactions and $2.60 for TOLL BY PLATE transactions involving cars, pickup trucks, SUVs, motorcycles and any other vehicles that have two axles and are lower than eight feet in height.
Rates for trucks, buses, and other vehicles with two or more axles and eight feet or above in height (Class 2 and above) are higher.
As is the case at its seven current toll bridges, the Commission will provide a frequency-based commuter E-ZPass discount at the new toll crossing and a 10-percent off-peak E-ZPass “truck discount” between (9:01 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. daily).
To qualify for the commuter discount, a motorist must make 16 or more tolled trips across the bridge in a respective calendar month using a personal vehicle transponder issued and administered by the Commission’s toll processor – the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. the NJ E-ZPass Group). The Commission’s toll processor can only track and tabulate the number of commuter-discount-qualifying trips on transponders and accounts that it administers. The discount can then get applied as a credit on an eligible customer’s future E-Pass statement.
If an individual with an already-existing E-ZPass account is not going to be using the bridge on a regular basis to qualify for 16-trip-per-month commuter discount threshold, there is no need to switch to the Commission’s E-ZPass service provider; they will be charged the same base $1.25 E-ZPass rate as any other non-frequent E-ZPass passenger vehicle motorist.
The regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (the DRJTBC’s toll processor) serves seven toll agencies operating or domiciled in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The other affiliated agencies are: the Delaware River Port Authority, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (which also operates the Garden State Parkway), the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the Delaware River & Bay Authority, the Burlington County Bridge Commission, and the Cape May County Bridge Commission.
To get an account with the toll processor for the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, dial 1-888-288-6865 (1-888-AUTO-TOLL) or go to www.ezpassnj.com.
