REORGANIZING DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE DIVISION
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 17, DELAWARE C O D E ENTITLED "THE DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE" BY REORGANIZING AND RECONSTITUTING THE DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE DIVISION OF THE STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT AS THE DELAWARE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY DIVISION BY AUTHORIZING SAID DIVISION TO ISSUE REVENUE BONDS TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAYS IN THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, INCLUDING EXPRESS HIGHWAYS, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF TOLL CROSSINGS OVER AND UNDER THE DELAWARE RIVER, AND FOR REFUNDING PURPOSES AND BY VESTING IN THE DELAWARE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY DIVISION THE MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OPERATION OF THE DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Substantial and accumulated annual increases experienced in highway traffic for the United States as a whole and particularly for Delaware, plus the concentration of interstate traffic flow through Delaware caused by the construction of the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike have forced upon the State of Delaware the need for new construction and reconstruction of highway facilities out of all proportion to funds available to the State Highway Department. Presently scheduled express highway construction in the adjoining states of Maryland and Pennsylvania will very shortly bring to the boundaries of Delaware increased interstate traffic. To provide supplemental funds for certain highway construction and reconstruction, to provide for payment of a proportionate share of such highway construction and reconstruction costs by the interstate traffic which is producing the need for such added expenditures, and to enable the State of Delaware to discharge the obligations which this traffic has imposed upon
it, The Delaware Memorial Bridge Division of the State Highway Department (originally created as the Delaware Crossing Division under authority of Chapter 193 of the Laws of Delaware, 1947, which, as amended and revised, appears as Chapter 3 of Title 17 of the Delaware Code), is reorganized and reconstituted as the Delaware Interstate Highway Division and is vested with the powers and duties hereinafter specified.
Section 2. The Delaware Interstate Highway Division shall consist of a Director, who shall be the presiding officer of the Division and two associate members, any or all of whom may be members of the Department. The Director and the associate members shall be appointed by the State Highway Department for a term of four (4) years each. In the event of a vacancy resulting from the death, resignation or disqualification of the Director or of an associate member named herein such vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by a person to be selected by the remaining members of the Delaware Interstate Highway Commission. Thereafter, upon the expiration of the term of any such appointee a successor shall be apointed by the State Highway Department for a term of four (4) years, and in the event of a vacancy for any cause at any time it shall be filled in like manner but only for the unexpired term. No more than two members shall be affiliated with the same political party. All appointments shall continue until the successors have qualified. Any person appointed to the Division may be appointed to succeed himself. The Director and associate members of the Divisions shall serve without compensation. The Secretary of the Highway Department shall be Secretary of the Division provided however that the said Secretary may appoint a deputy to act in his stead. The Chief Engineer of the Highway Department shall be the Chief Engineer of the Division provided however that the said Chief Engineer may appoint a deputy to act in his stead. The Division shall have power to establish bylaws, rules and regulations for its own government and procedure, and may make and enter into all contracts and agreements deemed necessary or incident to the performance of its duties and the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act; provided, however, that all contracts or obligations of the Division shall be payable solely from the revenues of the Division as hereinafter defined, or from the proceeds of revenue bonds of the Division issued under authority of this Act. The Division
may employ engineers, financial advisers, attorneys and all other persons deemed necessary for the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers, and may prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of all such agents or employees.
Section 3. The control, operation, tolls and other revenues of The Delaware Memorial Bridge and its approaches, and all of the real and personal property appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith, shall vest in the Division subject to the rights of the holders of outstanding The Delaware Memorial Bridge Revenue Bonds of the State of Delaware, heretofore issued under the authority of Chapter 275 of the Laws of Delaware, 1945, as amended, and the State of Delaware hereby covenants that the control, operation, tolls and other revenues of said The Delaware Memorial Bridge, its approaches and all real and personal property appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith, shall remain vested in the Division so long as said bonds or any bonds issued under the authority of this Act shall remain outstanding and unpaid. Until all of The Delaware Memorial Bridge Revenue Bonds issued under authority of Chapter 275 of the Laws of Delaware, 1945, as amended, have been paid in full or provision shall have been made for the payment thereof in the manner provided by the Indenture between the State Highway Department of the State of Delaware and Equitable Trust Company of Wilmington, Delaware, dated as of the first day of June, 1948, and the Supplemental Indentures between said Highway Department of the State of Delaware and said Equitable Trust Company, dated as of June 1, 1951 and January 1, 1952, securing the payment of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Revenue Bonds now outstanding. The Delaware Memorial Bridge shall be operated and extensions and improvements made thereto, and the tolls and revenue derived therefrom accounted for and applied in strict conformity with the provisions of said Indenture and Supplemental Indentures.
Section 4. The Division shall have power and authority to make and enter into all contracts and agreements with any firm, corporation, public body or authority of this State or any other State which it may consider necessary to or advisable for the maintenance of the Delaware Memorial Bridge or for repairs or additions thereto or improvements thereon.
Section 5. The Division is authorized, with the approval of the Governor, to construct toll crossings over or under the Delaware River between the State of Delaware and the State of New Jersey, and is further authorized to enter into agreements with the Department to pay, in whole or in part, the cost of construction, reconstruction or improvement by the department of such highways and express highways, as defined in Section 101 of Title 17 of the Delaware Code, in the State of Delaware as the Division, in its sole discretion, designates necessary to carry traffic to and from The Delaware Memorial Bridge and to and from any other toll crossing hereafter constructed, or to be constructed, by the Division under the provisions of this Act ; provided that no commercial enterprise or activity for serving motorists, other than emergency services for disabled vehicles, shall be conducted within or on any property designated, as or acquired for, or in connection with, any such express highway. The State Highway Department may construct on such property at locations it deems appropriate connecting service roads parallel to such express highways in such manner as to facilitate the establishment and operation of competitive commercial enterprises for serving motorists on private property abutting such service roads. The cost of such parallel service roads may be included in the cost of construction, reconstruction or improvement of expressways in any agreement authorized herein. In entering into agreements with the Department for the construction, reconstruction or improvement of highways as herein authorized, the Division shall give first consideration to express highways for the use of traffic to and from The Delaware Memorial Bridge.
Section 6. The State Highway Department is hereby authorized to purchase within this State and within the State of New Jersey, if permitted to do so by the laws of that State, such lands, sand, earth, gravel, stone, buildings, structures, rights-of-way, franchises, easements and other interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights of any person, copartnership, association, railroad or other corporation or other municipality or political subdivision deemed by the Division to be necessary for the construction, maintenance or operation of any toll crossing which the Division is authorized by the provisions of this Act to acquire, construct or maintain, upon such terms and at such prices as may be considered by it to be reason-
able and can be agreed upon by it and the owner thereof, and to take title thereto in the name of the State of Delaware, or if such property so purchased be located in the State of New Jersey, to take title thereto in the name of the Department if permitted by the laws of the State of New Jersey so to do, or, in the discretion of the Department, to take such title in the name of an individual or a corporation as Trustee for the Department. Whenever a price cannot be agreed upon or whenever the owner is legally incapacitated or is absent or is unable to convey valid title or is unknown, the Department may and, at the request of the Division, shall acquire by condemnation any of the above mentioned properties located within the State of Delaware, so deemed by the Division to be necessary as aforesaid for said purposes. Whenever valid title to any of the above mentioned properties which are located in the State of New Jersey cannot be acquired by the Department in its own name or in that of the Trustee or nominee by amicable agreement with the owner or owners and the Highway Commissioner of the State of New Jersey or other appropriate officer or agency of the State of New Jersey is willing to condemn, for the use of and to become a part of the highway system of the State of New Jersey, any such property deemed by the Division necessary for construction, maintaining or operating any toll crossing which the Division is authorized by this Act to construct and maintain, if reimbursed for the condemnation money or damages awarded in such condemnation and expenses thereof, the Department is authorized and empowered to enter into an agreement of reimbursement with the Highway Commissioner of the State of New Jersey or such other appropriate officer or agency for such condemnation money or damages and expenses and to secure the same by a deposit of cash or otherwise, and is further authorized to reimburse said Highway Commissioner of the State of New Jersey or the State of New Jersey or other appropriate officer or agency thereof for all condemnation money or damages and costs legally awarded or incurred in such condemnation. When such property is so acquired by the Highway Commissioner of the State of New Jersey or other appropriate officer or agency of said State as a part of the Highway System of that State, the Division is authorized to construct, maintain and operate thereon or thereunder any toll crossing which the Division is authorized to construct and maintain under the provisions of this Act as fully as though title thereto had been acquired by the Division. The Division shall pay all costs and expenses of acquiring such properties out of its unencumbered revenues or out of the proceeds of the sale of its revenue bonds.
Section 7. The State of Delaware hereby consents to the use by the Division, in any manner whatsoever in the performance of its duties hereunder, of all lands lying under the waters of the Delaware River which are within the State and are deemed by the Division to be necessary for the construction and operation of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and of any other toll crossing which the Division is authorized by this Act to construct or maintain.
Section 8. The Division is hereby authorized to establish regulations respecting the use of The Delaware Memorial Bridge and/or any other toll crossing which it is authorized to construct or maintain by the provisions of this Act, by any person, partnership, association or corporation desiring to use said crossing, its approaches, appurtenances or any part thereof, including the approach highways connecting with such bridge, for placing therein or thereon gas or oil pipe lines, telephone, telegraph and electric wires or cables or for any other purpose, and to fix the terms, conditions and rates of charge for such use. The violation of any regulation established by the Division in respect of the use of any such crossing, including regulations established by the Division regulating traffic over any such crossing and its approaches or approach highways, shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine of not in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each such offense.
Section 9. It shall be the duty of said Division to procure and keep in force adequate insurance upon any toll crossing constructed or operated by it, including adequate use and occupancy insurance, as well as insurance to defray the cost of removing obstacles from the Delaware River in the event of a collapse or other injury to such crossing.
Section 10. The Division is hereby authorized and empowered to employ a General Manager for the purpose of supervising the operation of toll crossings constructed or maintained
by it and to appoint such number of guards and toll keepers as may be deemed to be advisable by it for the proper operation of The Delaware Memorial Bridge and any toll crossing over the Delaware River constructed or maintained by the Division, and such officers are hereby given powers of a constable in the performance of their duties, and it shall be the duty of the Division to procure and keep in force at all times a fidelity bond or bonds issued by a bonding company qualified to do business in this State to protect the Division against loss arising from the fraudulent or dishonest conduct of any of its managers or employees with respect to funds or property of the Division or of the State within the control of the 'Division, and the Division is hereby authorized to pay the costs of such bond or bonds out of its revenues.
Section 11. As long as any bonds heretofore issued under the provisions of Chapter 275 of the Laws of 1945, as amended, shall remain outstanding and unpaid or until provision shall have been made for the payment thereof as provided in the Indentures securing such bonds, no bridge or tunnel over or under the Delaware River for the use of the traveling public or for the transportation of goods or other property, having a terminus in The State of Delaware within the distance of ten (10) miles north along the shore of the Delaware River and twenty (20) miles south along such shore of the Delaware terminus of The Delaware Memorial Bridge shall hereafter be constructed and operated by the State, by the Division or other agency of the State, or by any county, municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State, or by any agency or instrumentality of any thereof, or by any public body or authority not created by an act of Congress of the United States, or by any person, copartnership, association or corporation not created by or acting under authority of an act of Congress of the United States.
Section 12. All toll crossings constructed or operated and maintained by the Division under the provisions of this Act and all property acquired or used by the Division in connection therewith, shall at all times be free from all taxation within the State of Delaware.
Section 13. The Division is authorized to issue, in the name
of the State of Delaware, revenue bonds of the State, payable solely from the revenues of the Division for the purpose of paying the cost of construction (including interest during the period of construction and for one (1) year thereafter) of any toll crossing which it is authorized to construct under the provisions of this Act or to enable it to pay to the Department any amount which it is required to pay pursuant to any agreement made with the Department under the provisions of Section 5, to defray the cost of constructing or improving highways, and for the purpose of refunding any bonds issued under the provisions of this Act, at or prior to the maturity thereof.
Section 14. The Division is further authorized to issue, in the name of the State of Delaware, revenue bonds of the State, payable solely from the revenues of the Division, at any time after the enactment of this Act, for the purpose of refunding at or prior to maturity, all bonds heretofore issued under the authority of Chapter 275 of the Laws of Delaware, 1945, as amended, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the principal amount of said outstanding bonds and the redemption premium, if any, required to be paid upon their redemption prior to maturity, the fees and expenses of the trustee named in the Indenture and Supplemental Indentures securing such bonds, the interest which will become clue upon such bonds to the date of their redemption, and all legal and other expenses incident to the issuance of said bonds, and the Division is authorized to deposit with the trustee named in the Indenture and Supplemental Indentures securing the payment of said outstanding bonds, out of the proceeds of such refunding bonds, such amount as shall be required to authorize such trustee to satisfy such Indenture and Supplemental Indentures.
Section 15. All bonds issued under the authority of this Act shall be dated, shall bear interest at such rate or rates, not exceeding five (5) percentum per annum, payable semi-annually, shall mature at such time or times and may be made redeemable before maturity at such times and at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Division prior to the issuance of the Bonds. The principal of and the interest upon such bonds may be made payable at any lawful medium. The Division shall determine the form of the bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereto, and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and interest thereof, which may be any bank or trust company within or without the State. The bonds shall be signed by the Director of the Division and the Great Seal of the State or a facsimile thereof shall be affixed thereto, and shall be attested by the Secretary of State, and any coupons attached thereto shall bear the facsimile signature of the Director of the Division. In case any officer whose signature or facsimile thereof shall appear on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of such bonds, such signature or facsimile shall, nevertheless, be valid for all purposes, the same as if he had remained in office until delivery. All bonds issued under the provisions of this Act shall have, and are hereby declared to have, all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the Negotiable Instruments Law of this State. Such bonds and the income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation by the State of Delaware or by any political subdivision, agency or authority thereof. The bonds may be issued in coupon or registered form, or both, as the Division may determine, and provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bond as to principal alone or as to both principal and interest, and for the reconversion of any bonds registered both as to principal and interest into coupon bonds. The Division may exchange such bonds for bonds issued under Chapter 275 of the Laws of Delaware 1945, as amended, or issued under this act or may sell such bonds either at public or private sale in such manner and for such price as it may determine to be for the best interests of the State, but no such sale may be at a price so low as to require the payment of interest on money received therefor at more than five (5) percentum per annum, computed with relation to the absolute maturity of the bonds in accordance with standard tables of bond values. The proceeds of such bonds, exclusive of accrued interest, shall be used solely for the purposes specified in the resolution of the Division authorizing the issuance thereof, or as set forth in the Indenture securing their payment, which purposes may include redemption premiums, interest on bonds to be refunded to the redemption date or date of maturity thereof and all legal and other expenses of their issuance, and shall be disbursed under such restrictions, if any, as said resolution or trust indenture may provide. The proceeds of such bonds shall at no time revert to the General Fund of the State Treasury but shall at all times be available to the Division for the aforesaid purposes, provided, however, that if the proceeds of the bonds of any issue shall exceed the amount required for the purpose or purposes for which such bonds are authorized to be issued, the surplus may be used for any purpose of the Division herein authorized or for the payment of the principal of or interest on its outstanding bonds. Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds the Division may issue temporary bonds with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds upon the issuance of the latter. The Division may also provide for the replacement of any bond which shall become mutilated or be destroyed or lost. Such bonds may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified and required by this Act.
Such bonds are hereby made securities in which all State and municipal officers and administrative departments, boards and commissions of the State, all banks, bankers, savings banks, trust companies, saving and loan associations, investment companies, and other persons carrying on a banking business, all insurance companies, insurance associations, and other persons carrying on an insurance business, and all administrators, executors, guardians, trustees, and other fiduciaries, and all other persons whatsoever who now or may hereafter be authorized to invest in bonds or other obligations of the State, may properly and legally invest any funds, including capital belonging to them or within their control; and such bonds are hereby made securities which may properly and legally be deposited with and received by any State, County or municipal officer or agency of the State for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of the State is now or may hereafter be authorized by law.
Section 16. Bonds issued under the provisions of this Act shall be payable exclusively from the revenues of the Division and shall contain a statement on their face that the State of Delaware shall not be obligated to pay the bonds or the interest thereon except from such revenues, and that the faith and credit of the State are not pledged to the payment of the principal or interest on such bonds. The issuance of bonds under the provisions of this Act shall not directly or indirectly or contin-
gently obligate the State to levy or pledge any form of taxation whatever therefor or to make any appropriation for their payment.
Section 17. In the discretion of the Division, each and any issue of such bonds may be secured by a trust indenture by and between the Division and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the State. Such trust indenture may pledge or assign the revenues of the Division but shall not convey or mortgage any toll crossing or other property operated or maintained by the Division. Either the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds or such trust indenture may contain such provisions specifying, defining, protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including covenants setting forth and duties of the Division in relation to the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance, operation, repair and insurance of any toll crossing or additions thereto, and the custody, safeguarding and application of all moneys and may also provide that any toll crossing constructed by the Division shall be constructed and paid for under the supervision and approval of consulting engineers employed or designated by the Division, and satisfactory to the original purchasers of the bonds issued therefor, and may also require that the security given by contractors and by any other depository of the proceeds of the bonds or revenues or other moneys be satisfactory to such purchasers. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of this State to act as such depository and to furnish such indemnifying bonds or to pledge such securities as may be required by the Division. Such indenture may set forth the rights and remedies of the bondholders and of the trustee, and may restrict the individual right of action of bondholders as is customary in trust indentures securing bonds and debentures of corporations. In addition to the foregoing, such trust indenture may contain such other provisions as the Division may deem reasonable and proper for the security of the bondholders. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of such trust indenture may be treated as a part of the cost of maintenance, operation and repairs of any toll crossing to which such indenture is related or may be paid out of the revenues of the Division.
Section 18. Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this Act or any of the coupons attached thereto, and the trustee under the trust indenture, if any, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by resolution passed before the issuance of the bonds or by the trust indenture, may, either at law or in equity by suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings protect and enforce any and all rights under the laws of the United States or of the State of Delaware or granted hereunder or under such resolution or trust indenture, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by this Act, or by such resolution or trust indenture, to be performed by the Division, or any officer thereof, including the fixing, charging and collecting of tolls for the use of any toll crossing operated by the Division.
Such resolution or trust indenture may contain provisions under which any holder of such bonds or the trustee under such trust indenture shall be entitled to the appointment of a receiver in the event of a default, and any receiver so appointed shall have and be entitled to exercise all the rights and powers of the Division with respect to the crossings operated or maintained by the Division and all of the appropriate rights and powers of a reeciver in equity.
Section 19. The Division is hereby authorized to make and enforce such rules and regulations and to establish, levy and collect (or to authorize by contract, franchise, lease or otherwise, the establishment, levy and collection of) such tolls, rents, rates and other charges for the use of any toll crossing operated by the Division or any improvements or extensions thereof as it may deem necessary, proper, desirable and reasonable, and the Division is hereby authorized and empowered to pledge such tolls, rates, rents and other revenues, or any part thereof, either presently received or to be received in the future, or both, as security for the repayment with interest of any moneys borrowed by it or advanced to it and as security for the satisfaction of any other obligation assumed by it under the authority of this Act,
Such tolls, rates, rents and other charges shall be so fixed and adjusted so as to provide funds at least sufficient, together with any other revenues of the Division to pay the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating the toll crossings operated and
maintained by the Division, and the principal of and the interest upon the outstanding revenue bonds of the Division, subject, however, to any applicable law or regulation of the United States of America now in force or hereafter to be enacted or made. Such tolls and all other revenues of the Division shall not revert to the General Fund of the State Treasury but shall at all times be available to the division for the purposes herein set forth. Such tolls, rates, rents or other charges shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any other commission, board, bureau or agency of the State.
Section 20. The Division, in addition to the moneys which may be received from the sale of bonds and from the collection of tolls and other revenues derived under the provisions of this Act, shall have authority to accept from any Federal agency or other public or private body, or from any other source, grants or contributions of money or property for or in aid of the construction, maintenance or operation of the toll crossings maintained and operated by it or for or in aid of the construction, reconstruction or improvement of any highway which is the subject of an agreement with the Department as authorized by Section 5 of this Act, or for the payment of its bonds.
Section 21. All moneys received pursuant to the authority of this Act, whether as proceeds from the sale of bonds, or grants or other contributions, or as tolls and revenues, shall be deemed to be trust funds, to be held and applied solely as provided in this Act. The Division shall, in the resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds or in the trust indenture, provide for the payment of the proceeds of the sale of the bonds and the tolls and revenues to be received to any officer, agency, bank or trust company, who shall act as trustee of such funds, and shall hold and apply the same to the purposes hereof, subject to such regulations as this Act and such resolution or trust indenture may provide.
Section 22. The State of Delaware hereby covenants and agrees with the holders of any of the bonds issued by the Division under the provisions of this Act, for which there may be pledged the revenues of the Division or any part thereof, that so long as said bonds or obligations remain outstanding and unpaid and unless and until adequate provision is made by law for the
protection of the persons advancing money upon such obligations, the State will not diminish or impair the power of the Division or of any successor thereof to operate or control any toll crossing constructed or maintained and operated by it, including The Delaware Memorial Bridge or to establish, levy and collect tolls, rates, rents or other charges in connection therewith.
Section 23. The State of Delaware hereby covenants that if the division shall issue bonds under the provisions of this Act no crossing of the Delaware River shall thereafter be constructed and operated by the State, by the Division, or other agency of the State, or by any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State, or by any agency or instrumentality thereof, or by any public body or authority not created by an Act of Congress of the United States, or by any person, copartnership, association or corporation not created by or acting under authority of an Act of Congress of the United States, which shall compete with The Delaware Memorial Bridge or with any toll crossing over or under the Delaware River to be constructed in whole or in part out of the proceeds of such bonds, and the Division is hereby authorized to agree with the holders of its bonds as to the character and location of any crossing which shall be deemed to be a competitive crossing within the meaning of this Section, and such determination shall be binding upon the State of Delaware and the Division, so long as any of such bonds remain outstanding and unpaid, or until provision for their payment shall have been made in the manner provided in the resolution or indenture pursuant to which such bonds shall have been issued.
Section 24. It shall be unlawful for any member or employee of the Division or of the Department to be directly or indirectly pecunarily interested in any contract or sub-contract made in connection with the construction, improvement, repair, operation or maintenance of any toll crossing operated or maintained by the Division, and any such member or employee who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to be fined not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisoned for not exceeding two (2) years, or both, in the discretion of the Court.
Any person who shall use or attempt to use any toll crossing operated or maintained by the Division without paying the toll then charged at the rate then in force for such use, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to be fined not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), or imprisoned for not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both, in the discretion of the Court.
Section 25. Definitions. As used in this Act the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) The word "Department" shall mean the State Highway Department established under Title 17 of the Code of Delaware, as amended, or if said Department shall be abolished, any board, commission or officer succeeding to the principal functions thereof, or to whom the powers given by this Act to said Department shall be given by law.
(b) The word "Division" means the Delaware Interstate Highway Division as reorganized by this Act.
(c) The words "Revenues of the Division" shall mean the proceeds of tolls, rates, rents and other charges for the use of toll crossings constructed by the Division under authority of this Act, including, upon the satisfaction of the indenture and supplemental indentures securing the payment of all bonds heretofore issued under the authority of Chapter 275 of the Laws of Delaware, 1945, as provided by Section 14 of this Act, the proceeds of tolls, rates, rents, and other charges for the use of The Delaware Memorial Bridge.
(d) The word "crossing" shall be deemed to include a bridge or bridges over the Delaware River or a tube or tubes under said River, and all approaches thereto and approach highways and all other buildings or structures connected with any such bridge or tube, and all equipment essential to the operation thereof, and also all property rights, easements and franchises relating thereto and deemed necessary or convenient for the construction or operation thereof, and may include any elevated or depressed highways connecting any such bridge or tube with a State road.
Section 26. The Division shall be vested with all powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this Act, including the power to enter into such contracts as it may deem expedient so to do, and this Act shall be liberally construed to carry into effect its purposes, but no contract or other obligation of the Division shall be construed to impose any obligation upon the State of Delaware or upon any political subdivision or agency of said State, it being intended that all obligations of the Division, of whatsoever character, shall be payable solely from the revenues of the Division or from the proceeds of revenue bonds issued under authority of this Act.
Section 27. The provisions of this Act are severable and if any of its provisions shall be held to be unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the decision of such court shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions.
Section 28. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.