You’re cruising down Route 1, heading out of New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, and you see the signs. The Trenton Morrisville Bridge toll is one of those things locals deal with daily, but for everyone else, it’s a source of sudden "Wait, did I pay that?" anxiety.
Honestly, the whole setup changed recently. If you haven't crossed in a while, the old "fumbling for quarters" routine is officially dead.
The New Reality of Crossing the Delaware
As of early 2026, the Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1) Toll Bridge is fully cashless. You don’t stop. You don't talk to a human. You just drive.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) finally pulled the plug on cash lanes in January 2025. Now, everything is handled by overhead cameras and sensors. If you have an E-ZPass, you’re golden. If you don’t, the system takes a picture of your license plate and sends a bill to your house.
But here’s the kicker: the price difference between those two methods is massive.
The Price You Pay: 2026 Rates
Let's talk numbers because they just went up. On January 1, 2026, a new rate schedule kicked in across all DRJTBC bridges.
For a standard car (Class 1 passenger vehicle), the E-ZPass rate is now $2.00.
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If you’re using Toll By Plate (meaning you don’t have a transponder), you are looking at $5.00.
That is not a typo. You are basically paying a $3.00 "convenience" fee just for the state to mail you a piece of paper. If you’re a daily commuter, that adds up to hundreds of dollars a year. It’s wild that people still skip the E-ZPass, but about 13% of drivers still do it.
For the big rigs and commercial guys, the jump is even steeper.
- E-ZPass Commercial: $6.50 per axle.
- Toll By Plate Commercial: $8.00 per axle.
A five-axle tractor-trailer without E-ZPass is paying $40.00 to cross into Pennsylvania. Think about that next time you see a delivery truck on Route 1.
Which Way Are You Going?
One thing that trips up visitors is the direction. You only pay the toll when you are traveling southbound (westbound) from New Jersey into Pennsylvania.
Going from Morrisville into Trenton? It’s free.
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This leads to a lot of "toll shopping" where people try to find the "free bridge." The Lower Trenton Bridge (the famous "Trenton Makes The World Takes" bridge) is still free, but it has weight limits and narrow lanes that make it a nightmare for anything larger than a SUV.
Why the Hike?
People love to complain about toll increases. It's a tri-state pastime. But the DRJTBC is actually a bit of a weird bird in the world of government agencies.
They don't get state or federal tax money. Not a dime.
Every dollar spent on fixing potholes, painting the steel, or clearing snow on the Trenton-Morrisville Bridge comes directly from those tolls. Plus, they have a legal mandate to use that money to maintain 12 other "toll-supported" bridges that don't charge anything at all. Basically, the Route 1 bridge is the "big brother" paying the bills for all the smaller, historic crossings nearby.
Right now, they are in the middle of a massive project to build a high-speed gantry. By late 2026 or early 2027, the old toll plaza—the one that still makes you slow down to 25mph—will be gone. They’re replacing it with a "highway speed" system so you can maintain 55mph or 65mph without the bottleneck.
The "I Forgot to Pay" Nightmare
If you don't have E-ZPass and you’re waiting for that bill in the mail, stay on top of it.
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The first bill is just the toll ($5.00). If you ignore it for 30 days, they hit you with a $5.00 late fee. If you ignore that for another 30 days, it turns into a violation.
A violation isn't just a late fee; it’s a $30.00 penalty per transaction.
I’ve seen people turn a $5.00 trip into a $40.00 headache because they forgot to update their address on their vehicle registration. The mail goes to the address on file with the DMV. If you moved and didn't tell the state, those bills are piling up in a dead mailbox somewhere while your fines skyrocket.
Practical Moves for the Route 1 Driver
If you’re going to be using the Trenton Morrisville Bridge toll more than once a year, just get the transponder. You can get one from NJ E-ZPass or PA E-ZPass; it doesn't really matter which one, as the rates for Class 1 vehicles are the same across the DRJTBC system.
- Check your mounting: Make sure the tag is on the windshield. Holding it up with your hand often fails, and the camera will treat it as a Toll By Plate.
- Update your plates: If you get a new car or a temporary tag, log into your account immediately.
- Watch the speed: Even though it's cashless, the current configuration at the old plaza still has narrow lanes. Don't be the person who clips a mirror trying to fly through at 50mph before the new gantry is built.
The reality is that tolling is only going one way: up. With the 2026 increases now in full effect, the best way to handle it is to automate it and move on with your day.
Next Steps for You
- Check your E-ZPass balance: If you haven't used your tag in months, ensure the credit card on file hasn't expired to avoid that $5.00 Toll By Plate rate.
- Sign up for "Pay by Plate" online: If you refuse to get a transponder, you can sometimes pre-register your plate on the NJ E-ZPass website to manage bills digitally rather than waiting for snail mail.
- Download the PA/NJ traffic apps: Route 1 is notorious for accidents near the toll plaza; checking the sensors before you leave Trenton can save you 20 minutes of sitting in bridge traffic.