Delays Announced On New E-ZPass Booths, Toll Increases In Cape May County, Including Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Cape May County Bridge Commission announced delays for both the installation of E-ZPass toll booths on Cape May County bridges, including Ocean City, and the toll increases expected to come along with them.

Toll booth installation, originally targeted for June 1, will now take place over the next four to five months, the commission announced on Monday.

Installation will take place in various phases, with activation coming as each bridge is finished. Contracts are expected to be awarded in April for updating electrical conduits and installing sensors, electrical equipment, and aluminum overhead support structures.

The commission has decided that instituting a toll increase in the middle of the summer “would be unnecessarily complicated, confusing, and burdensome to bridge customers.” Discussions about toll increases will instead take place after the E-ZPass toll booths are fully functional.

A public hearing on toll increases that was scheduled for April 27 was canceled and will be rescheduled for later this year.

“We have received a great deal of positive feedback about the implementation of the E-ZPass system; however, there has also been confusion over whether or not the toll increase is due to the expenses related to the E-ZPass system,” Bridge Commission Executive Director Karen Coughlin said. “The fact is that the current tolling system on the Bridges is antiquated and in immediate need of upgrading and replacement. The new E-ZPass tolling system is the logical new system for the Commission to invest in and the decision to upgrade our system to E-ZPass has minimal bearing on any possible future toll increase. The vast majority of increased revenues derived from any toll increase will go directly to structural, functional, and aesthetic upgrades to the 1930’s vintage bridges.”

Booths will be installed on all Ocean Drive bridges, including the Ocean City-Longport Bridge, the Middle Thorofare Bridge, Grassy Sound Bridge, Townsend’s Inlet Bridge and Corsons Inlet Bridge.

The installation — which is designed to increase efficiency and alleviate traffic back-ups on these bridges — is being made possible as part of an inter-local service agreement in place between the Cape May County Bridge Commission and the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA).

Patch file photo