Washington Crossing Bridge could be open again to traffic in eight to 10 days, a Wednesday report said.
By Ruth Luse
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) presented a preliminary assessment of the damage to its bridges as a result of the early April flooding of the Delaware River at its monthly public meeting Monday.
On Wednesday afternoon, however, that report was updated. Repairs to the Washington Crossing Bridge are expected to begin today (April 21). Assuming "appropriate weather conditions," the bridge could be open again to traffic in eight to 10 days, the report said.
When the bridge, which connects Titusville with Washington’s Crossing, Pa., does reopen, hours of operation probably will be restricted to allow for planned repairs of the bridge’s expansion joints. This work was planned prior to the flooding and is expected to involve bridge closures from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. for a 20-consecutive-day period.
After the early April flooding, the commission was forced to close the bridge "indefinitely" on April 7 when damaged masonry to one of the bridge piers was revealed as the river started to recede. The commission then was primarily concerned about the stability of the unprotected core of the pier due to erosion of the sheathing layer of masonry that protects the masonry core.
"Water velocity and turbidity prevented the commission from having access to the damaged area to conduct inspections until April 15," when a diving consultant conducted further inspections of the damaged pier. The inspections focused on missing masonry, about 7 feet tall by 10 feet wide and up to 28 inches deep, the report said. The remaining masonry is intact, but there is evidence that the exposed mortar has eroded. There also is a "voided area" between the intact masonry sheathing and the rock core that extends about 3 feet downstream and vertically above the damaged area.
The commission has authorized up to $500,000 in emergency funding to do the necessary repairs.
What caused the flooding and the damage? "The heavy rains of April 1 and 2 resulted in precipitation ranging from 2.5 to 5 inches in the Delaware River Basin, causing the river to crest at 25 feet in Trenton on April 4 at 3 p.m., more than 12 feet above normal spring levels," Monday’s report said.
By the evening of April 4, all of the commission’s toll-supported bridges were closed with the exception of the Lower Trenton and Scudder Falls bridges. The local bridge was reopened on April 6, only to be closed again on April 7.

