Officials To Pick Preferred Plan For Replacing Delaware River Bridge

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and New Jersey Turnpike Authority officials are hosting public meetings this week to show off a recommended plan for replacing or rehabilitating the aging Delaware River Bridge.

The officials will present the results of a detailed alternatives analysis and share the agencies’ preferred option for the 70-year-old I-95 span.

The project is to increase capacity, ease congestion, and support the Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Interchange Project, which connects the two major toll roads and ensures continuous travel across the Mid-Atlantic.

A virtual public meeting will be hosted Tuesday, June 9, via Microsoft Teams. Registration is available online at DelawareRiverTurnpikeBridge.com.

On Wednesday, June 10, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., an in-person event will be hosted at Brookwood Elementary School at 2200 Haines Road in Bristol Township’s Levittown section.

In New Jersey, an in-person event will be hosted on Thursday, June 11, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Florence Township Municipal Building at 711 Broad Street in Florence.

Turnpike officials from both states have found that the existing structure can no longer be rehabilitated to fulfill modern federal standards or handle current traffic demands.

The four-lane bridge opened in 1956 and now carries roughly 67,000 vehicles daily between Bucks County and Burlington County.

Planners have been weighing two main paths forward: constructing a new six-lane span adjacent to the current bridge over a four-year period, or utilizing a phased construction approach that would span eight years.

The project will focus on replacing the bridge and reconfiguring the approach roadways.

The replacement plan recently received a major boost with a $600 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program.

If the bridge project is approved, construction is projected to begin by the end of the decade, with completion anticipated in the early 2030s.

The upcoming open houses will feature the same information across three sessions, including two in-person events and one virtual option.

The in-person meetings will have no formal presentations; instead, members of the project team will be present to answer public questions.

Members of the public who cannot attend the sessions can review the meeting materials and submit feedback online at DelawareRiverTurnpikeBridge.com from June 9 through July 13.