Atlantic City Expressway headed for cashless tolling but no formal decision until early 2009

The Atlantic City Expressway looks likely to become New Jersey's first all-electronic or cashless tollroad, but contrary to local news reports it's not yet a done deal. The Press of Atlantic City newspaper reported bluntly this week: "Paper and coin will be monetary history on the Atlantic City Expressway by the end of 2010. Expressway operators said Tuesday that's when they expect to implement their plan to make the toll road cash-free."

Very likely, but not formally decided.

The subject arose in informal discussion at the monthly board meeting of the expressway's operator, the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA), this week, but there was no resolution or vote on the issue.

Officials at SJTA say cashless, all-electronic tolling looks to be the way to go, but a formal decision won't be made until consultants and staff have prepared a report and a plan, detailing the alternatives and laying out costs and benefits.

Traffic Technologies Inc of New Windsor NY have been working with top staff at SJTA on the evaluation of options for modernizing toll collection. The expressway has open road tolling at their Pleasantville mainline toll plaza installed in 2004 (see under massive arch truss nearby), but cash systems alongside are obsolete going back to 1997, an MFS job.

Pleasantville has 2 express or open road toll lanes each direction in the center and 9 stop-to-pay toll lanes.

At their second mainline plaza, Egg Harbor, they have an old fashioned all-stop-to-pay toll plaza without any highspeed lanes. Egg Harbor toll plaza has 13 lanes, several central ones reverisble for a maximum 8 lanes either direction.

Ramps have between them 30 toll lanes, so the Epressway in total has 59 toll lanes.

TTI was asked to evaluate whether SJTA should do standard 1995-2005 style open road tolling through the middle and modernization of cash lanes on the sides, or go directly to cashless, all-electronic tolling, a combination of transponder and cameras.

An SJTA official tells us all the signs are that the decision will be to go cashless. Capital costs are so much lower. When cash payment is maintained at the sides there is not only the refurbishment of cash facilities required but an overpass or tunnel for staff to move safely from one side of the highspeed lanes to the other.

The next issue then is the extent to which lower operating costs are offset by lower collectibles.

A spokesman for SJTA says the staff-TTI report to the board on cashless AET or cash+central highspeed should be ready early in 2009. At that point the board will make a formal decision on how to proceed.

The target date for opening modernized mainline toll points is end-2010.

An RFP could be out in the spring or by early summer next year.

BACKGROUND: Atlantic City Expressway, NJ446, will be mostly 3+3 lanes when a new stretch of third laning is complete by 2010. It is various computed at 44  and 47 miles (71km and 76km) in length and has 13 interchanges. The basic 2+ 2 lanes was built 1962 to 1965 by a New Jersey Expressway Authority.

ACE did an average of 183k toll transactions per day in 2007.  Growth has been faster than on any other New Jersey-New York mid-Atlantic area toll facility having risen from 140k/day in 2000 and 118k in 1990.

Toll revenue was $67m in 2007 and with new toll rates in place should soon be around $90m/year in 2009.  The road provides the quickest route between the Philadelphia metro area (pop 5.1m) and the Atlantic ocean coast. It has 13 interchanges. Greatest deficit is its lack of direct connection to the New Jersey Turnpike.

Turnpike connection

CLARIFICATION: The Turnpike crosses NJ42 freeway about 11km (6.5 miles) north of the northern or western end of the Atlantic City Expressway so a good connection between the Turnpike and the Expressway requires an interchange with NJ42. NJ42 and the Expressway are one and the same road as far as the motorist is concerned, one flowing seamlessly into the other. The connection would be most easily accomplished by extending the SJTA's jurisdiction up NJ42 to the Turnpike or just beyond it. (ADDED 2008-11-24 17:00)

Brigantine Connector

At the Atlantic City end the SJTA built a neat 3.7km (2.3 mile) long 2+2 lane, tight urban expressway named the Brigantine Connector which does a nice job of distributing traffic within the city. It features a 4-lane divided 600m (1960ft) long tunnel built cut-&-cover under a park, 16 bridges plus 15 access/egress ramps, a couple of which go directly into large casino-hotel parking buildings, the rest into downtown streets. The Connector built 1998 to 2001, cost $330m and is not tolled.

SJTA runs Atlantic City Airport, some bus and van services, and several major parking facilities. It is fully owned by the state of New Jersey and its board are appointed by the state governor.

see http://www.sjta.com

TOLLROADSnews 2008-11-21 ADDITIONS 2008-11-24