Delaware River toll bridges go cashless, for now, due to spreading pandemic

Easton bridges

The Route 22 toll bridge is seen in May 2016 looking toward Easton from Phillipsburg. The span is one of seven owned and operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission that will temporarily stop accepting cash toll payments effective at 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2020, due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic.Lehighvalleylive.com file photo

UPDATE: Cash toll collections are returning to bridges, including between Northampton and Warren counties

Drivers without E-ZPass will no longer pay cash when crossing seven Delaware River toll bridges, under a temporary measure aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

The change takes effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday and will remain in place until further notice, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced.

It affects the commission’s toll plazas that are set up to accept both cash and E-ZPass, including the Interstate 78, Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), Portland-Columbia (Routes 611, 46 and 94) and Delaware Water Gap (I-80) spans in the Lehigh Valley region.

The other three bridges impacted are Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1), New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) and Milford-Montague (Route 206). The commission’s Scudder Falls (I-295) Toll Bridge was already an all-electric toll facility.

The new emergency toll-collection process eliminates exchanges of currency and change that could spread coronavirus among customers and commission personnel, according to a news release sent out a little over four hours before the change takes effect.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission suspended cash and credit tolls March 16.

The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 illness. It began spreading in December from China and is now a global pandemic. New Jersey as of Tuesday reported at least 3,675 known cases of the coronavirus, including 44 deaths. The caseload is the second highest in the nation, behind New York. Pennsylvania as of Tuesday reported 851 confirmed cases, with seven deaths -- two in the Lehigh Valley.

Under the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission change, E-ZPass customers will continue to proceed through lanes marked for E-ZPass as they do now.

Motorists who previously paid cash will be directed to a single, far right lane at each tolling point. While these lanes will have overhead signs reading “cash,” the respective toll booth will be closed with an accompanying placard stating, “Cashless tolling in effect. Keep moving.” Motorists should move through these lanes at 5 to 15 mph without stopping.

In the absence of toll-both attendants, overhead equipment will record the passage of any vehicle without a functioning E-ZPass transponder. A bill for the toll only will be prepared and mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner.

Vehicle owners without E-ZPass will have 30 days from the invoice's issuance date to pay and avoid a $30 violation fee per toll transaction.

A toll bridge commission spokesman said Tuesday night he was unsure if toll-takers are being laid off because of the change.

Drivers can sign up for E-ZPass through the toll bridge commission or through the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. If there’s anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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