New Jersey

Cash Tolls Return to Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike

Starting Tuesday, toll takers began collecting cash along the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway weeks after cash was suspended due to coronavirus concerns

New Jersey Turnpike toll booth signs
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

What to Know

  • You can pay cash again while driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
  • The New Jersey Turnpike Authority restarted cash tolls on Tuesday.
  • Toll collectors will be wearing gloves and face masks and be behind plastic shields, the turnpike commission said.

Drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway can use cash to pay for tolls again.

Cash tolling restarted Tuesday morning.

Toll takers on New Jersey’s two major north/south highways hadn’t been taking cash since March 24 due to coronavirus concerns. As a precaution to slow the spread of COVID-19 all drivers on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway were issued tolls by mail or continued to pay by E-ZPass.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority instituted safety measures to protect employees and drivers at tollbooths.

“(Toll collectors) will be wearing gloves, face masks, and plastic face shields,” the commission said on its website. “Drivers who intend to pay with cash are encouraged to wear face masks themselves as they travel through the toll lanes.”

Besides the return of cash toll lanes, coin lanes on Parkway entrance and exit ramps also reopened Tuesday.

Drivers issued tolls by mail are urged to pay the toll amount by the due date of face fees, the turnpike commission said.

E-ZPass users should see no change in how they pay to use the roadways.

Another bridge connecting to New Jersey is also set to resume cash toll collection.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge had switched to cashless-only payments two months ago due to the coronavirus. But the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the span, announced Monday that the bridge's cash lanes will reopen at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Toll collectors will be wearing masks and gloves, and the DRBA asked that drivers wear masks when paying with cash. The collectors will also be stationed in tollbooths behind sneeze guards, and the booths will be sanitized in between shifts.

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