Driving in Delaware is becoming more expensive as several toll and fee increases took effect Oct. 1.
The increases include an additional $1 at the toll plazas in Dover and at Biddle's Corner near Odessa, an increase to $40 to register a car at the Division of Motor Vehicles and a document fee increase from 2.75% to 3.25% of the purchase price of a vehicle.
The General Assembly approved the increases in June to improve the depleted Transportation Trust Fund, which was facing a $1.5 billion shortfall over six years.
The fund is used for transportation construction projects. The revenue package is expected to raise $164 million over two years, said state director of budget development Michael Jackson.
"It will allow the state to have a viable transportation program and meet the growing needs of the state's infrastructure," Jackson said, though he noted the package still leaves a funding shortage.
"The General Assembly will have to come back and generate an additional $600 million to fully fund the capital program proposed in January," he said.
The fund was created in 1987 to provide funding for DelDOT capital projects, mainly building roads. The agency's revenues would be deposited there, instead of mixing with other revenue in the state's general fund.
However, the fund now pays out $200 million annually for DelDOT's operating expenses, which began during the early-90s recession.
