Study: Del. Mem. Bridge traffic down

By Bill Gallo Jr.
bgallo@sjnewsco.com

NEW CASTLE, Del. Here's something that might surprise you if you've ever crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge at rush hour traffic there was down by several thousand vehicles in 2007.

According to data recently released by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the bridge, 17,643,097 vehicles passed through the toll plaza last year. Of those, 2,492,187 were commercial vehicles and the remainder, 15,150,910, non-commercial such as passenger vehicles.

While the number of vehicles appears large, the number actually represents a 63,000 drop over the number that passed through the tolls in 2006.

The decline in traffic was the first in 10 years at the Delaware Memorial Bridge which is a key transportation link along the Northeast Corridor.

High gas prices and the sagging American economy could be playing a role, some say.

"Bridge traffic statistics are often a reflection of the overall economy and does illustrate a sluggish economy and the effects of high gas costs," said Jim Salmon, spokesman for the DRBA.

Of the authority's more than $90 million in revenue last year, $73.5 million came from tolls paid at the bridge.

During 2007 officials say that the use of the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system increased 2 percent up to a point where now 57 percent of all vehicles passing through the toll plaza here were equipped with E-ZPass.

Since tolls are collected just one way at the bridge, the authority's rule-of-thumb is to double the number of vehicles which passed through the toll gates and come up with the total for use of both spans.

The DRBA also saw traffic decline at its Cape May-Lewes Ferry operation. The ferry carries passengers between North Cape May across the Delaware Bay to Lewes, Del.

While a combined total of over 1.3 million vehicles and passengers used the ferry in 2007 annual vehicle and passenger traffic decreased 2.7 percent and 2.0 percent respectively, when compared to 2006.

The ferry is a money-loser for the DRBA. Since service was first inaugurated in 1964, the operation has lost money. It's deficits are made up by tolls paid at the Delaware Memorial bridge.

During 2007, the ferry operation ran a deficit of more than $6 million. But, if you factor in other associated costs such as insurance, security, food and retail that are accounted for in other DRBA operations, the ferry deficit is about $9 million.

The DRBA is awaiting a report from Hornblower Marine Services, Inc., on the ferry and ways to improve overall operations and the bottom line there.

In addition to the bridge and ferry, the DRBA operates the Three Forts Ferry which takes passengers during summer months between Fort Mott State Park, Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Del. It also operates several regional airports and the DRBA Salem Business Centre.