CAPE JOURIMAIN, N.B. – Confederation Bridge Management has received the go-ahead from Transport Canada to install an electronic tolling system at the fixed link to automatically levy its user fees.

John Francis, the bridge general manager, says the system will be made available to commercial truckers first with the introduction slated to occur by this fall.

The system being proposed is the same as the one in place at Nova Scotia’s Cobequid Pass, the Saint John Harbour Bridge and the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridges.

Accounts under the new transponder system will not be prepaid as at the other locations. Transponders will be read and associated to a credit card number, which will then be processed by the company’s system.

Also, transponders will not be sold on an individual basis, but may be obtained from any of the other current tolling operations.

Francis says the company decided to proceed with the tolling system after learning Ottawa would reimburse half the costs.