New Delaware Toll Plaza Open In Time For July 4 Travelers On I-95

Expansion project complete at long-time bottleneck on Interstate 95

Could Delaware's infamous toll plaza bottleneck finally have been uncorked?

Delaware Department of Transportation officials say they've completed a $32.6 million project — just in time for the July 4 holiday weekend — that will greatly reduce the mind-numbing toll collection backups that have made Delaware's border with Maryland the most dreaded stretch of Interstate 95 from Maine to Miami.

Department spokesman Michael Williams said the opening of two new high-speed E-ZPass lanes in each direction "will result in dramatic changes in what motorists face when they transit the Newark toll plaza in Delaware."

Work on the project, which started last spring and temporarily added to the congestion woes at the toll plaza, was completed a month ahead of schedule, Williams said.

The toll plaza has been notorious for its miles-long backups, which could add an hour or more to trips along the Eastern Seaboard on holidays, summer weekends and, sometimes, at times when there seemed to be no earthly explanation.

The kicker would come when the trapped-like-a-rat motorist finally reached the tollbooth and had to cough up $4 — each way — to drive through a state that took less time to cross than to pay for the privilege of doing so. The low return on investment in time and money has driven many drivers to seek bypass routes that have saved them both.

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