The DRJTBC's Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its December 2009 meeting to establish tolling at the replacement Scudder Fall Bridge. The resolution "authorizes" the agency's executive director to "take all steps necessary to toll the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge."

The Commission felt it was obliged to issue its tolling decision after making an assessment of its overall capital program needs, its current system of financing the capital program, and -- most notably --the unlikelihood of securing sufficient project funding assistance (if any at all) from the federal and state governments.

The Commission believes a toll paid by users of the bridge is the most equitable and plausible funding solution. Commissioners did not feel it was reasonable or fair to expect users of its other toll bridges to shoulder the financial burden of the capital improvements to the Scudder Falls Bridge, its nearby interchanges and the I-95 corridor

The Commission envisions that the future Scudder Falls toll facility will consist of the following elements:

• Cashless tolling. This will consist of an electronic "open-road tolling" gantry installed on or adjacent to the replacement bridge's upstream span. The gantry system would be outfitted with E-ZPass electronic-toll-collection readers, high-resolution cameras, and near-infrared lights. Motorists with E-ZPass would pay their tolls electronically while driving at highway speeds. Motorists without E-ZPass would have their license plates photographed at highway speeds and would be sent bills in the mail for the toll plus an administrative fee. The purpose of the administrative fee is to offset the additional cost of collecting tolls through video capture.


• Non-E-ZPass customers may choose to register their license plate and establish a video toll account. The administrative fee charged to these customers would be less than the administrative fee charge to non-E-ZPass users who do not register their license plate to establish a video tolling account.


• The facility will not include conventional toll booths that would cause traffic stoppages or congestion.


• Tolls would be collected in the southbound direction (i.e. into Pennsylvania) only.

The I-95/Scudder Falls Bridge Improvement Project will provide a new facility that will meet the region's transportation needs for the foreseeable future. But the costs for the multi-faceted project - a completely new, larger bridge; improved interchanges at both ends of the bridge in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; widening of I-95 in Pennsylvania; sound walls and a bicycle/pedestrian multi-use path - are substantial.

The project is, in fact, the largest single capital undertaking in the Commission's history - an estimated $322 million, according to the agency 2011 capital budget. The current crossing is the most heavily used span in the Commission's 20-bridge system. Vehicular crossings are expected to rise from roughly 58,000 (both directions) daily to more than 70,000 daily by the design year 2030. Tolling would have these users share in the cost burden of this significant transportation infrastructure improvement that will provide new capacity and other upgrades to meet future traffic demands of the coming decades.