Weekend Route 1 tolls will increase $1

Starting in July, the weekend toll on Route 1 at Biddle's and Dover toll plazas will increase by $1 to $3.

The weekend toll per passenger vehicle is $2 from Friday night to Sunday night, but those tolls will increase to $3 sometime next month.

The increase is expected to bring an additional $10 million annually to state transportation coffers.

Under state law, the Delaware Department of Transportation can raise tolls on its own authority. Even so, the move was not made without Bond Bill Committee approval and consultation with the General Assembly, said Geoff Sundstrom, DelDOT spokesman.

The increase is part of an estimated $30 million in new funding for DelDOT in fiscal 2015. The Bond Bill Committee authorized DelDOT to leverage the new toll revenue against $20 million in new borrowing. The added funding would include $8.4 million to the community transportation fund, $2 million to the municipal street aid program and $19.6 million to DelDOT’s paving program.

The tolls charged at on and off ramps to Route 1 will remain unchanged.