Support Towers To Be Erected Below Damaged Delaware River Bridge

Work to stabilize and repair the Delaware River Bridge that connects the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes is continuing into the evening hours this week.

Neighbors told LevittownNow.com crews have been working on the 1.2-mile-long span during the day and into the evening hours.

The residents said that Pennsylvania Turnpike representatives have come through the Bristol Township neighborhood below the bridge to speak with neighbors and explain that crews will be focusing on the bridge for at least the next several weeks.

According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, an assessment of the bridge is underway and initial bridge stabilization work was completed several days ago.

No reopening date for the bridge has been announced.

Below the bridge, Radcliffe Street along with Palmer and Wood avenues are expected to remain closed.

As of Thursday, engineers had devised a plan to lay foundations for eight “temporary support towers which will further stabilize the compromised areas of the bridge,” according to a public statement. The towers will temporarily support the weight of the massive bridge until it can be fully repaired.

The initial stabilization work adding new metal plates to reconnect the fractured steel truss to prevent further movement. Images of the repair work show plates with multiple bolts rejoining the fractured truss that abruptly caused the closure of the bridge last Friday afternoon.

Samples of the truss have been taken and sent to the lab at Lehigh University for forensic analysis to help determine the cause of the fracture, officials said.

As part of the bridge monitoring program, the bridge analysis is being conducted. In addition, sensors and cameras are being installed to monitor for any bridge movement. The span is being watched 24/7, officials explained.

Officials have said the Delaware River Bridge was regularly inspected and maintained. The fractured truss that closed the bridge was found by a New Jersey Turnpike Authority engineer inspecting work done by a painting contractor.

To notify motorists of the closure and of detours, close to 100 electronic signs are alerting drivers that the bridge is closed.

The bridge was built in 1956 and carries roughly 42,000 vehicles per day. The span connects the 360-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township to the 120-mile New Jersey Turnpike in Burlington Township.