Gov. Corzine, who had threatened to veto an earlier, larger toll increase proposal, said he supported the hikes. The money is to be used to widen the turnpike between Exits 6 and 9 and the parkway between Exits 63 and 90. It also will fund a number of bridge-reconstruction projects on the two highways.

The toll increases also will provide the state's $1.25 billion contribution for a planned rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Republican lawmakers are seeking to prevent toll increases from being used to fund the tunnel.

The higher tolls will take effect about Dec. 1. Tolls last went up on the turnpike in 2000 and on the parkway in 1989.

For the turnpike driver who now pays $1.20, the new plan would mean a 50-cent increase this year and a 90-cent increase in 2012. For the parkway driver who now pays 35 cents, the new plan would mean a 15-cent increase this year and a 25-cent increase in 2012.

The new increases provide for continuing the current 25 percent off-peak E-ZPass discount.

A new 10 percent discount will be offered to drivers 65 and older during off-peak hours if they use New Jersey-issued E-ZPass transponders. A 10 percent discount also will be offered to drivers of low-emission vehicles that get at least 45 miles per gallon or that meet the California "super ultra low emission vehicle" standard.

The authority added an extra discount for trucking companies that pay more than $10,000 per month in tolls. They will receive a 10 percent discount, twice as much as was initially proposed.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean Jr. (R., Union) and Sen. Leonard Lance (R., Hunterdon) have introduced a resolution to allow lawmakers to veto the toll increase, Kean said yesterday.

Kean said the swift approval of a plan unveiled Tuesday was "crass" and "demeaning."

"At a time when the economy is getting worse, we don't want to be raising tolls," he said.

The approval of the toll hikes came shortly after a hearing at which many people opposed the increases.

Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, said the increases would hurt trucking companies already fighting high gas prices and a weakened economy.

"If you're paying $8 extra per truck and you have a fleet of 100 trucks, that's an extra $800 per day," she said. "How many small businesses can absorb that?"

The cost of a truck trip on the turnpike would increase an average of $2.05 this year and $3.75 in 2012. A full-length truck trip on the turnpike would increase from the current $26.55 to $56.85 by 2012.

Dennis Brady, a Matawan resident, said he had seen traffic increase steadily in his neighborhood as commuters seek to avoid toll roads, and envisioned the situation worsening.

Some of the most pointed comments came from Zohar Laor, 39, a software engineer from Edison, who addressed Transportation Commissioner - and Turnpike Authority Chairman - Kris Kolluri directly.

"Just because you can go home and look in the mirror and say, 'I didn't raise it as much as I could have,' that doesn't let you off the hook," he said.

Kolluri defended the increases and said they would be used to fund about $1.3 billion in work by the end of June 2009.

"If you ask anybody who sits in traffic on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or on any weekday at the turnpike merge, I think they'll be the first one to support it," he said. "Politicians and people like me have promised these projects for over a decade, and it's time to make good on our promise."

Kolluri said the widening of the turnpike would begin by next spring.

Corzine has said about 15,000 jobs will be created for each $1 billion spent on bridge and road projects.

To reduce costs, the Turnpike Authority will cut its 10-year capital spending plan to $7 billion from $9.7 billion and its operating budget by $13.8 million a year through eliminating positions and cutting overtime.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.