TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner today voiced her opposition to the proposed toll-bridge planned by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to replace the currently free Scudder Falls Bridge that connects New Jersey and Pennsylvania along Interstate 95, saying the project will have a detrimental impact on Trenton and the motoring public.

The senator today joined with a bipartisan group in opposition to the plan: Senator Michael Doherty (R-Hunterdon), Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittle, Americans for Prosperity State Director Steve Lonegan, and DRJTBC Commissioner Ed Smith.

“Opposing this bridge isn’t about being a Democrat or a Republican, it’s about not wanting to see the quality of life for Trenton’s residents and the quality of travel for the public downgraded even further,” said Turner (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “Putting tolls up on the Scudder Falls Bridge will mean even more cars on Trenton’s free spans, which offer easy access back to the interstates without any price tag. Trenton’s free bridges already become de facto parking lots at rush hour, and will only become more so, more often.”

Turner said the creation of a toll bridge will only push more traffic onto the toll-free and already congested Trenton Makes and Calhoun Street bridges in Trenton, as commuters seek alternatives to paying to cross the Delaware River. Those two bridges lie between the tolled Route 1 bridge in Trenton and the Scudder Falls Bridge, with easy access to both I-95 and I-195 via state Route 29.

Opened in 1959, the 4-lane, toll-free Scudder Falls Bridge is slated to be replaced with a new, wider bridge. To help finance the plan, the Commission voted in 2009 to establish a toll for the new crossing, comprised exclusively of “cashless tolling,” a combination of E-ZPass lanes and – for drivers without E-ZPass – high-speed cameras that would capture the license plates of cars crossing the span, mailing a toll statement (including a separate handling charge) to the home of the registered owner.

“If having to pay a toll isn’t bad enough, getting charged a handling fee for the pleasure of paying a toll is a double-whammy,” said Turner. “Driving’s expensive enough, we don’t need to be unnecessarily adding to it.”

Ultimately, Turner said, the proposed replacement bridge should be shelved in favor of less-costly upgrades to the current span.

“The Scudder Falls Bridge can use a facelift to ensure it can continue to safely carry cars across the Delaware,” said Turner. “But at a time when motorists are already paying close to $4 a gallon for gas, giving them the choice between paying a toll or a tightly congested free bridge is really no choice at all.”