7 Toll Rules That Confuse First-Time Delaware Visitors

Delaware once had more than $143 million in overdue tolls sitting on driver accounts, enough that lawmakers weighed a one-time amnesty to collect it.

A lot of that came from confusion, not defiance.

These are the toll rules that confuse first-time Delaware visitors.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Toll rates and violation fees are subject to change, so confirm current requirements with the Delaware Department of Transportation for the state’s toll roads. For the Delaware Memorial Bridge, confirm with the Delaware River and Bay Authority instead.

Only Three Toll Roads

Delaware charges a toll on exactly three roads, and a driver never has to plan around paying on any other road in the state.

Interstate 95 collects its one Delaware toll at the Newark Toll Plaza, a single stop south of the Route 896 interchange.

Delaware Route 1 collects tolls at two plazas, one at Biddle’s Corner near Middletown and one in Dover next to Dover Motor Speedway.

That’s the whole mainline list.

U.S. Route 301 tolls drivers too, running along the Maryland line as the newest of the three and the only stretch built without a single toll booth.

That leaves the Delaware Memorial Bridge as a separate story entirely, covered later on.

A visitor who knows those four crossings can drive the rest of Delaware, from the beach towns to the back roads, without ever reaching for cash or an E-ZPass.

Cash at Only Two Toll Roads

Delaware’s toll roads split when it comes to cash.

I-95’s Newark Toll Plaza and both Route 1 plazas keep staffed cash lanes alongside their E-ZPass lanes.

A driver with cash in hand can still pay the old-fashioned way at any of them.

U.S. Route 301 differs completely.

Route 301 runs on all-electronic tolling, so a driver on that highway pays only by E-ZPass or by mail through a toll-by-plate invoice.

There’s no cash lane anywhere on that road.

Route 1’s Higher Weekend Toll

Route 1’s toll plazas charge a different rate depending on the day of the week, something I-95 never does.

A two-axle car with a Delaware E-ZPass pays $1.50 on a weekday at Biddle’s Corner or Dover.

That same car pays $4.00 to cross on a Saturday or Sunday.

Weekends cost more than double.

A cash payer or a driver with an out-of-state E-ZPass tag pays even more, $2.50 on weekdays and $6.00 on weekends at the same two plazas.

DelDOT keeps Interstate 95’s toll flat at $5.00 for a two-axle vehicle no matter the day, cash or E-ZPass alike.

The Extra Cost of an Out-of-State E-ZPass

A driver’s E-ZPass account decides the price at a Delaware toll, not just the vehicle.

Delaware reserves its E-ZPass discount for Delaware-registered accounts.

The tag decides everything.

A New Jersey or Pennsylvania tag pays the same higher rate as cash on Route 1, not the lower Delaware rate.

Even a frequent commuter’s account only helps if Delaware issued it.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge runs the opposite kind of split, and its cheapest rate covers both Delaware and New Jersey E-ZPass tags equally.

A two-axle car with a Delaware or New Jersey E-ZPass crosses for $4.75, while every other E-ZPass tag pays the standard $5.00 rate and a cash payer pays $6.00.

The 61-Day Wait Before a Toll Violation

Delaware overhauled how it treats a missed toll in 2025, and the new process starts with a bill, not a violation.

DelDOT says a driver who misses a toll on I-95, Route 1, or Route 301 now gets a mailed invoice for just the toll amount.

That’s the whole bill.

Delaware law gives that driver until the 61st day after the state sends the invoice to pay it, under Title 21 of the Delaware Code.

Only after that 61st day does an unpaid toll turn into an actual violation.

That violation adds a $25 administrative fee and a $25 civil penalty on top of the toll.

Delaware has wrestled with unpaid toll debt for years.

State lawmakers once tallied more than $143 million of it while weighing a one-time amnesty program.

A driver who lets that single monthly bill sit past day 61 is the one who ends up owing the extra fees.

No Stopping or Backing Up in Toll Lanes

Delaware’s toll lanes come with one hard rule that has nothing to do with money.

A driver who enters the wrong lane, or whose transponder fails to read, is told to keep moving through the plaza.

Delaware’s E-ZPass customer service page says a stalled or reversing car in a toll lane creates a hazard for the vehicle behind it.

That’s the danger.

Nobody behind that car sees it coming until it’s too late.

The driver should proceed through the lane and call customer service afterward to sort out payment.

A wrong-lane mistake still costs the full cash toll if the lane has an attendant, so keep cash on hand as a backup even with a working transponder.

One-Direction Tolling on the Delaware Memorial Bridge

The Delaware Memorial Bridge works differently from every other toll crossing in Delaware.

A bi-state agency called the Delaware River and Bay Authority runs the bridge, not DelDOT, and it collects its toll only from traffic entering Delaware from New Jersey.

The return costs nothing.

That one-way structure has been in place for decades.

A Delaware day-tripper heading to the Jersey Shore pays nothing heading out and pays once on the way back.

Oversized and wide-load vehicles crossing the bridge must use one lane, Toll Lane 13, the farthest lane to the right in the plaza.

How Delaware's Toll Ramps Work

Delaware also runs three small toll ramps that work nothing like its three main plazas.

Boyd's Corner sits south of the Biddles Corner toll plaza.

The Scarborough Road ramp, known locally as Denney's Road, sits at the northern edge of Dover.

A third ramp serves the south side of Smyrna.

These ramps run differently, too.

None of the three ramps has a cash lane or an attendant.

DelDOT bills a driver without a working transponder later, through the same toll-by-plate invoicing it uses everywhere else in the state.

The Boyd's Corner ramp and the Scarborough Road ramp charge $0.75 for a two-axle vehicle, while the South Smyrna ramp charges just $0.50, the cheapest toll anywhere in the state.