Caught in the middle of a New Jersey fight over toll increases on the Delaware Memorial Bridge is a $44 million project to protect the span from collisions with out-of-control ships.

Responding to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's veto of a planned $1 toll increase, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority claimed on Thursday that the agency could not pay for its half of the bridge protection project without a boost in toll revenue.

That, in turn, would put at risk a federal $22.5 million matching grant for the construction of the floating bridge fenders, spokesman James Salmon said.

Murphy sees the funding scheme differently, arguing in a letter to bridge administrators that the veto should not "limit in any way" the flow of the federal money to the fender project.

Any toll increase should only fund such "critical safety enhancements," he said, rather than the DRBA's ferry and airport operations.

It is a message he has been sending to DRBA administrators, along with a warning of a potential veto, ever since his inauguration a year ago, he said.

In addition to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the DRBA owns and operates the Cape May, Lewes Ferry, the New Castle Airport, the Millville (New Jersey) Airport and the Cape May Airport, among smaller properties. The authority is run by a board of commissioners appointed by the New Jersey and Delaware governors who have veto power.

Salmon says that millions more in federal dollars allocated to pay for new engines on the Cape May, Lewes Ferry and for other capital projects at airports in New Jersey and Delaware are in jeopardy because of Murphy's veto.

Such public transportation links rarely turn a profit anywhere in the United States, he argued, and therefore they need to be subsidized. In this case, the subsidies will flow from toll revenue.

"These are all projects that are both prudent and necessary," he said. "We are very surprised and disappointed and concerned" by the veto.

The Delaware River and Bay Authority's board last month approved the toll increase to $5 for a passenger vehicle.

Bridge tolls have accounted for about 75 percent of DRBA revenue in recent years.

New Castle County, DRBA quietly wage battle over airport land

Months after increased FAA scrutiny, Delaware airport gets federal grant

Without new toll revenue, the DRBA will focus its capital spending on the bridge itself, Salmon said, including new wire rope for the suspension of the span and rehabilitation of the bridge deck.

Asked why the agency can't cut spending in other areas to preserve money for the bridge fender project, Salmon said no such financial slack exists. He said the DRBA operating budget has increased less than 1 percent a year over the past five years, not accounting for inflation.

Funding battles between New Jersey and the DRBA also existed with Murphy's predecessor.

Bridge administrators said in 2017 that then-Gov. Chris Christie's veto threats over DRBA employee contracts created a “frustrating” atmosphere at the authority.

Vetoes, or threats of them, rarely have originated in Dover.

Delaware Gov. John Carney also received Murphy's letter. A spokesman for Carney said the two governors spoke on Thursday and plan to meet "to find a speedy resolution."

"The higher toll rate would help fund important infrastructure investments. So this latest setback is concerning," Carney said in a statement.

A spokesman at the New Jersey governor's office declined to comment beyond the governor's letter.

Murphy closed his letter stating that the DRBA must provide citizens with "transparent understanding" of its operations before raising tolls again.

Salmon said the DRBA held public meetings prior to the toll increase, and followed "the exact same procedures for toll increases that we enacted in 2000, 2008 and 2011."

"In fact, the DRBA also used its social media accounts to publicize the public hearing dates," he said.

A local report from New Jersey said Murphy's veto appeared to be directed at New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who recently disagreed with proposed state tax increases unless they are accompanied by spending cuts.

The report from NJ.com said it was the fourth time during the previous year that Murphy vetoed an action taken by a local authority that has close ties to Sweeney.

The powerful local Democratic politician is from Gloucester County, which lies in suburban Philadelphia, northeast of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

He, the governor, and New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin reached a $37 billion budget deal last year that increased the state income tax on high income earners, while boosting tax credits for lower income residents.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.