Bridge Closure Causes Rocky First Weekday Commute

Monday’s rainy and windy start to the commute wasn’t helped by the traffic displaced by the closure of the Delaware River Bridge that connects the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes.

The morning commute was packed on Route 1 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike up until the closing point in Bristol Township as drivers looked for detours to get around the closure. An accident on Route 1 and the weather didn’t help either.

The 1.2-mile-long span that crosses the 680-foot-wide Delaware River and connects Bristol Township to Burlington Township, New Jersey, will be closed for at least two weeks for a “comprehensive bridge analysis” and work to stabilize a steel truss that cracked. The work to permanently fix the broken truss has no timeline as of Monday.

PennDOT-controlled Radcliffe Street will also remain closed until further notice, state officials said. In addition, Bristol Township officials said they have closed Palmer Avenue and Wood Avenue, which is below the area of the cracked truss, for the time being.

“Motorists are strongly urged to take public transit, carpool, work from home or adjust work hours outside of peak commuting times during this closure. Severe congestion is expected at all area river crossings. Expect slow-moving or stopped traffic, especially during the morning and evening rush hours,” a statement from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has released the following official detours:

• Motorists heading to New Jersey will be detoured at PA Turnpike Exit 351 to Route 1 northbound to I-95 northbound, which becomes I-295 southbound in New Jersey, to I-195 eastbound to the New Jersey Turnpike. PA Turnpike Exit #358, Delaware Valley, will remain open for local traffic only; watch out for a single-lane pattern approaching Delaware Valley.

• Motorists heading to Pennsylvania will be detoured at New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 7A to I-195 westbound to I-295 northbound, which becomes I-95 southbound; or from New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 5 to Mount Holly Road. Motorists traveling from northern New Jersey are advised to exit at Interchange 14 and use I-78 west into Pennsylvania.

The bridge was immediately closed Friday afternoon after an engineer inspecting paint work discovered the fracture in a steel truss under the westbound lanes above Bristol Township.