Cape May County Tolls Could Double
The Cape May County Bridge Commission just recently put out their proposed 2022-20224 toll adjustments and we could be seeing some big changes down here.
For those who don’t know, The Cape May County Bridge Commission, the Bridge Commission for short, runs many of the smaller bridges down here. These bridges include Corsons Inlet Bridge, Ocean City’s Longport Bridge, Grassy Sound Bridge, Townsends Inlet Bridge, Middle Thorofare Bridge (Near 2-Mile).
The Middle Thorofare Bridge, which is located at the bottom of the island, and Grassy Sound Bridge, located at the top of the island, are the bridges that could be seeing this toll hike.
In their presentation, the Bridge Commission said that their toll revenue has dropped from 3.22 Million in 2010 to 3:04 Million in 2020.
Interestingly, 2020 was their best reported year since 2012. This was most likely caused by Covid restrictions, which saw more people vacation local rather than travel long distances. Many businesses down here saw a large spike in visitors and it’s projected that this will continue through summer 2022.
With rising costs and an overall 5.6% decrease in revenue, the Bridge Commission is proposing new hikes on tolls.
The current rate per car is $1.50. Their new toll plan calls for a three-year system-wide toll adjustment.
Their plan is below:
First $0.50 toll adjustment on or after February 1, 2022.
Second $0.50 toll adjustment on or after February 1, 2023
Third $0.50 toll adjustment on or after February 1, 2024
This would double the toll from $1.50 to $3.00 by 2024. The proposed plan will see $6,141,434.50 in estimated revenue by 2024 if the current estimate of drivers keeps at the same rate.
Another thing to keep in mind are the future projects that will be taking place all along the bridges down here. While the Middle Thorofare Bridge did just get much-needed repairs, the goal is to have it replaced by the late 2020s.