UPPER MAKEFIELD, PA — The Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge is scheduled to be reduced to a single alternating travel lane controlled by flaggers during off-peak weekday hours over the next two weeks, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced today.
The single alternating travel lane restriction will be in effect 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Tuesday, Sept. 3 to Friday, Sept. 6 and from Monday, Sept. 9 to Friday, Sept. 13 – weather permitting.
Although these are low-traffic-volume hours, motorists could experience brief delays, said the commission. Drivers using the bridge are urged to exercise caution and be prepared to stop for flaggers controlling traffic movements on the bridge.
According to the commission, travel restriction will allow engineers to conduct a detailed assessment of the bridge’s structural members, supports, and connections.
The commission has initiated an alternatives analysis for the bridge in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The federal act requires gathering of the most current data on the structure for purposes of assessing various alternatives such as doing nothing to the bridge, rehabilitating it, replacing it, or reusing it in a different manner
The upcoming inspections will be more in-depth than the biennial inspection carried out at the bridge earlier this year in accordance with the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inspection Standards. In contrast, the upcoming detailed inspections will be integral to determining what future course of action the commission might take with the 119-year-old narrow six-span steel superstructure and its 190-year-old masonry piers built on wooden-crib foundations.
Motorists looking to avoid the bridge while inspections are taking place are encouraged to use the Scudder Falls (I-295) Toll Bridge located 2.5 miles to the south in Lower Makefield.
Notes: The travel restriction is subject to change due to weather, emergencies, traffic, and staffing considerations. A toll-supported bridge like the one at Washington Crossing is free for the public’s use, but the cost of operating and maintaining the bridge is funded by a portion of the tolls collected at the commission’s eight toll bridges.
