I-78 Express E-ZPass Lanes

The two Express E-ZPass/Open Road Tolling (ORT) lanes at the I-78 Toll Plaza officially opened at 7:51 a.m. on May 13, delivering on the Bridge Commission's promise to have the facility open before the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The new two-lane, high-volume electronic toll-collection facility has proved to be enormously successful, enabling E-ZPass equipped motorists to pay their tolls while traveling at highway speeds.  Traffic congestion that regularly occurred at the toll bridge for years during peak travel periods has vanished.  By the end of June, more than 800,000 vehicles passed through the Express E-ZPass facility -- representing roughly 57 percent of total traffic that processed at the Commission's westbound I-78 Toll Plaza location for that time period.

While the Express E-ZPass lanes were put into full service, other elements of the construction project carried over into June.  This work will included additional roadway striping, installation of LCD signs at the remaining barrier toll plaza, and advance signage work along I-78 westbound as far back as New Jersey.

Commission officials declared all major project elements completed at a June 30 press event.

The resulting modernized toll facility consists of a two-lane Express E-ZPass gantry of cameras, E-ZPass tag readers and near-infra-red lights on the left and a scaled-down four-lane barrier toll plaza on the right that is able to handle both E-ZPass and cash transactions.

The Express E-ZPass lanes are designed to handle all E-ZPass-equipped vehicles -- cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses, but not special permit vehicles -- traveling to Exit 71 (Route 33) and points beyond.  The new facility is accessible from the far left lane on the toll plaza approach roadway after the toll bridge.

E-ZPass customers using Exit 75 or the Welcome Center exit and all cash customers should keep to the right of the Express E-ZPass zone and use the four-lane conventional toll plaza, which can handle both cash and E-ZPass transaction.  (Please note that the Commission initially operated one of the lanes as E-ZPass-only, but switched it to mixed-mode to help eliminate queuing at the toll plaza.)  Special permit vehicles must use the barrier toll plaza's far right lane.

Cash customers who mistakenly enter the Express E-ZPass Zone should continuing driving with the flow and proceed beneath the electronic tolling gantry.  One-time violations may be rectified through the Commission's E-ZPass Customer Service Center by phone -- 1-800-872-5061 -- or online at http://www.ezpassdrjtbc.com/.  Any toll, however, must be paid.

Repeat violators, however, will be subjected to violation fees -- $25 per violation for a first notice and with a $10 escalator fee (total $35) per violation if a second notice is issue.

The I-78 Express E-ZPass/ORT Project was undertaken to address recurring westbound traffic congestion at the I-78 Toll Bridge over the Delaware River and its corresponding toll plaza in nearby Williams Township, Pa.  Beginning in January 2010, three lanes of the location's previous seven-lane barrier toll plaza were removed to make way for creation of two Express E-ZPass toll collection lanes.  The result of this change is a dramatic net increase in the number of vehicles that the I-78 toll facility can process, reducing the number and durations of traffic backups at the location.

One Express E-ZPass lane can process up to 2,000 vehicles per hour as compared to 400 vehicles per hour in a conventional cash-only toll lane.

Aside from the project's immediate congestion-reduction dividends, the improvement also will enable the Bridge Commission to handle an anticipated upsurge in truck traffic during the next decade as shipments to Northeast Seaboard port locations, notably the Port of Newark and Elizabeth, rise after larger container ships are able to begin passing through a widened Panama Canal in 2015.

The I-78 Toll Plaza already processes more than 2 million trucks a year, the most of any facility in the DRJTBC's seven-toll-bridge inventory.  The number of trucks could rise exponentially in coming years due to the canal widening and other global shipping changes.

Overall, the toll location handled a daily average of 27,374 vehicles in 2009.

Construction activities for the I-78 Express E-ZPass/ORT project began January 8.  Over the course of the following months, contractors erected a space-frame gantry to process Express E-ZPass transactions, dismantled three toll plaza lanes to clear the way for eventual Express E-ZPass travelers, and put a permanent barrier in place to separate Express E-ZPass users from customers who will use the remaining four lanes of the previous seven-lane barrier toll plaza at the location.

The Commission's goal was to make the Express E-ZPass/ORT facility operational by May 26 -- in advance of the busy Memorial Day weekend.  The Commission stepped up efforts to activate the facility earlier to alleviate construction-related peak-period traffic congestion at the toll plaza.

Under the project's design-build contract, all construction work at the plaza is to be completed by June 30, 2010.

The Commission awarded a design-build contract on September 29, 2009 to A.P. Construction of Philadelphia to reconfigure the I-78 toll plaza so it can provide Express E-ZPass/ORT service.

The work included the partial demolition and removal of the toll plaza canopy and E-Z Pass signs and supports over the three left lanes at the toll plaza (lanes 5, 6 and 7); removal of the HVAC equipment in the canopy at existing lane 5; removal of the columns, toll islands, and toll booth at existing lanes 5, 6 and 7; removal of the stairs and platform at the south end of the existing canopy.

Other project elements included:

• Design and construction of the relocation of the existing fans, heaters, louvers located in the existing canopy fascias; design and construction of the relocation of existing HVAC equipment serving lanes 4 and 3 to fit within the area remaining in the canopy and connecting the relocated HVAC equipment back to the toll booths at lanes 4 and 3.
• Design and construction of new canopy fascias with materials to match the architectural style and color of the remaining canopy; design and construction of a new access stairway, walkway and entrance door on the north side of the canopy.
• Procurement and installation, including wiring for communication and power, of LCD (light-emitting diode variable-message) signs on the canopy.
• Design and construction of the sign support system for the LCD signs located on the canopy over lanes 1 through 4; four new overhead sign structures conforming to PennDOT 4 post 4 chord truss standard designs and drawings shall be designed, fabricated and constructed including foundations, sign panels, sign lighting including utility services, and temporary excavation support, as required.
• Removal of two existing overhead sign structures and one ground mounted sign.
• Fabrication, erection and construction of a space frame canopy over the two proposed ORT lanes, galvanized steel support system for the space frame canopy, E-Z Pass mounting bracket assemblies and drilled shaft foundations.
• Design and construction of a dowelled concrete barrier curb system to separate the ORT lanes from the conventional toll lanes and provide a clear passage for ORT patrons at the toll plaza.
• Revisions to existing storm drainage at the toll plaza.
• Restriping the approach and following westbound roadway to facilitate the new ORT lanes.
• Design of, modification to, and installation of electrical systems, at the toll plaza and surrounding areas, to support the installation of the ORT system equipment; this work includes, but is not limited to, conduit, power wiring, communication wiring, panel boards, circuit breakers, sign lighting, electrical utility services and junction boxes within the limits of the work shown on the conceptual plans.

The I-78 ORT contractor coordinated its efforts with the Commission's In-Lane Toll System Provider to procure and install the tolling equipment for the project.

The contractor also was required to provide maintenance and protection of traffic during staged construction.

A public-involvement program -- primarily aimed at raising public-awareness of the project, potential traffic delays and long-term benefits -- was conducted during the project's planning stages.

To further raise public awareness of the impending project and gather public comment, the Commission held an Open House at the Easton Quality Inn in Easton, PA.  The session gave area residents, commuters and other interested parties an opportunity to look over project renderings, examine a designated alternate travel route, obtain a project fact sheet, ask questions of the project team, and provide comment on construction-related traffic impacts and other issues.

The materials at the Open House are available for viewing by clicking on the following links:

- Project Fact Sheet
- I-78 Open House Display Boards
- Suggested Alternative Route

The Commission also operated a toll-free phone line during construction to allow customers to provide comments or ask questions about the project.

Interstate 78 crosses the Delaware River approximately two miles south of the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware River, connecting Northampton County in Pennsylvania with Warren County in New Jersey. The bridge is located approximately five miles south of Easton, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The mainline roadway includes three travel lanes in each direction.

The toll facility on the Pennsylvania side is approximately one mile west of the Delaware River. Westbound I-78 is a three-lane freeway in New Jersey, widening to four lanes in the vicinity of the Cedarville Road overpass.

The Commission opened its I-78 toll bridge 20 years ago on November 21, 1989.  It is the newest of the 20 bridges owned and operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.  The structure serves as a link between Newark, N.J. and Harrisburg, Pa. and is heavily used by long-haul truckers going to and from the Newark/Elizabeth ports region.  The bridge and its connecting roadways significantly reduced the traffic congestion previously experienced in the Easton/Phillipsburg area.

The Commission retained HNTB Corp. to develop the Concept Study Report and Plans for constructing ORT lanes at I-78.  Based on that research, the Commission decided that it would be more cost-effective and quicker to put an ORT-lite type system at the I-78 toll plaza.

Members of the public who may have questions or concerns about the project also may contact:

Richard McClellan
Director of Community Affairs
(267) 790-1063
rmcclellan@drjtbc.org

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