By: centraljersey.com
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission says the shutdown of the Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge will be lifted by 6 a.m. Friday.
The construction project is "in the homestretch toward reopening," said Frank G. McCartney, the commission’s executive director. "We are making every effort to meet our goal of getting this bridge back on line for motorists and pedestrians sometime on Sept. 24."
The 106-year-old Washington Crossing Bridge, which connects Hopewell Township with Upper Makefield Township, was shut down on Aug. 9 for a 46-day near-term improvement project. The commission’s goal is to have the bridge open in time for the morning drive period on Friday.
The project at the bridge was initiated after 2008 inspections cited excessive bulging, movement and road settlement in the vicinity of the bridge’s masonry wingwalls and abutment backwall on the Pennsylvania side. To make optimum use of the necessary closure period, the Commission performed a series of other improvements at the bridge during the shutdown, including improvements to the pedestrian railing; replacement of the pedestrian sidewalk decking; milling, repaving and restriping approach roadway pavement; installation of updated signage; and maintenance to the bridge’s light fixtures.
Major construction activities on the bridge and its approaches are winding down, but several project elements that can be performed without a complete bridge shutdown will continue into October. Some of this work may require occasional alternating single-lane closures on the bridge. Under the construction contract awarded for the job, all project work is to be completed by Nov. 1.
The bridge spans the Delaware River near the site of Gen. George Washington’s historic Christmas Night 1776 river crossing. The bridge is a six-span double Warren truss structure, with a total length of 877 feet. The open steel grid deck provides a clear roadway width of 15 feet between steel channel rub-rails. The down-river side of the truss supports a cantilevered, wood plank pedestrian sidewalk.
The superstructure of the existing bridge was constructed in 1904. The bridge substructure, however, dates to the construction of the first wooden bridge at the location in 1831. The bridge is restricted to a 15-mph speed limit, a 3-ton weight limit, and an 8-foot vertical clearance.
Those who want more information on the project can visit: www.drjtbc.org/washingtoncrossing.
– Ruth Luse

