Credit: Wikimedia/Public Domain
The iconic iron truss bridge that features “Trenton Makes The World Takes” will be receiving a noticeable upgrade.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) recently announced the “Trenton Makes The World Takes” sign that adorns the Lower Trenton Bridge will be upgraded to a new color-changing and energy-efficient LED lighting system over the summer and into the fall.
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The span connects Morrisville Borough to Trenton and carries thousands of commuters each day.
The current neon tubes that light the 9 feet by 6 inch high letters will be removed and replaced with LED strip lighting and electrical supply parts. The upgrade will also make the sign more energy efficient, officials said.
“We expect this technological upgrade will have an exponentially longer service life while being more reliable in all of kinds of weather conditions and reducing energy consumption costs in the process,” said Joe Resta, the DRJTBC’s executive director.
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The new LED lights will have the ability to change color, often for holidays and other special occasions.
“There could, for example, be alternating red, white and blue letter for the Fourth of July. Or green for St. Patrick’s Day. Or pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Resta said.
Carr and Duff Inc. of Montgomery County won the contract to update the lights for a cost not to exceed $647,000.
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The DRJTBC said in a statement that the upgrade to the signage will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the manufacturing-age slogan first appearing in lights along the Delaware River. Years before the current bridge was built, a “Trenton Makes The World Takes”lighted sign was illuminated in the old iron bridge that crossed the river. The bridge was tolled and run by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The famed slogan came from a 1910 Trenton Chamber of Commerce contest that took submissions. The winner – lumber yard owner and future New Jersey state senator S. Roy Heath – received a $25 contest prize but returned it.
The first lighted sign – wood letters with sequins – was installed in 1911 but disappeared after the current bridge was built in 1928. In 1935, a new lighted sign was installed and has been replaced at least five times.
