TRENTON – The Turnpike Authority issued a plan to increase tolls throughout the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike which will include improvements in Ocean County and beyond.
The tolls will increase by 27 percent on the Parkway and 36 percent on the Turnpike for passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles will see an increase as well. The tolls are expected to go into effect Sept. 13.
In Ocean County, the Barnegat toll will increase from $1.50 to $1.90 and the Toms River toll will increase from 75 cents to 95 cents. The tolls on the ramps in Waretown, Lacey, Berkeley, Lakewood and Brick will increase from 50 cents to 65 cents.
The tolls will help pay for improvement projects throughout these two roads. Locally, there is a proposed change to Parkway miles 80-83, in Toms River and South Toms River.
The Authority said four continuous lanes in each direction are needed between Interchanges 80 and 83 “to accommodate future traffic demands.” Full left and right shoulders will also be added.
This project is expected to cost $75 million.
Projects throughout the state are digital message boards ($80 million); a paving program ($550 million); lighting ($50 million); replacing underground storage tanks with aboveground ones ($10 million); medians ($35 million); fiberoptic lines ($100 million); ramp widening ($20 million); software and hardware ($400 million); a system to tell trucks if they are too tall for an overpass ($25 million); fixing/replacing 18 bridges/decks ($2.86 billion); drainage pipe replacement ($250 million); and many improvements to specific areas.
Comments about the capital plan and the proposed changes to the toll schedule may be submitted by email to NJTAPublicComments@njta.com or sent to Executive Director, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, 1 Turnpike Plaza, P.O. Box 5042, Woodbridge, NJ, 07095.
