Motorists should be alert to a series of intermittent 15-minute-long traffic stoppages during after midnight tonight, Thursday, at the New Hope-Lambertville "free" bridge.
The travel restrictions will enable engineers and consultants to conduct a series of load tests with sand-filled dump trucks. The tests will give insights into the viability and performance of various remote electronic sensors that might one day be used to assess the structural health of the weight-restricted bridge. The bridge monitoring devices were installed earlier this week.
The load-rating tests and corresponding 15-minute-long traffic stoppages are scheduled to take place overnight between 1 and 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Traffic volumes are extremely light during the designated four-hour testing period.
Motorists may want to consider using the nearby New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) toll bridge as a travel alternative.
Signs have been placed near the bridge to inform motorists about the impending overnight traffic stoppages. Variable message signs also have been placed at the intersection of Route 179/Bridge Street and Route 29 in Lambertville and the intersection of Route 179/Bridge Street and Route 202 in Solebury Township outside New Hope.
The scheduled travel-restrictions are subject to change due to weather, emergency and traffic considerations.

