FRENCHTOWN, NJ – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today announced that the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll-Supported Bridge will remain fully open to traffic in both directions through the upcoming three-day Presidents Day holiday weekend.
An uninterrupted nine-month-long detour of Pennsylvania-bound traffic is now firmly scheduled to begin February 18 — the Tuesday immediately following the holiday weekend.
The Commission previously estimated the closure would begin “on or about February 13.” The February 18 start date is a firmer projection for when travel impacts will begin for a year-long rehabilitation project at the bridge.
Field preparations for the project are expected to get underway during the week of Feb. 10, with the prime contractor establishing leased lay-down areas for equipment and materials and installing bagged detour signage in the vicinity of the bridge. Portable electronic variable-message boards have already been activated at five locations where traffic feeds to the bridge on its New Jersey side.
The detour of PA-bound traffic off the bridge is expected to begin around 6 a.m. on Feb. 18 – weather permitting. Once established, the PA-bound traffic detour would remain in place at least nine full months, a schedule that would extend through November.
PA-Bound Traffic Detour
The detour of PA-bound bridge traffic (DETOUR MAP CAN BE FOUND HERE) will be as follows, beginning at the corner of Bridge Street/NJ Route 12 and Harrison Street/County Route 619:
- Take Harrison Street/CR 619 north through Frenchtown toward Milford;
- Road becomes Frenchtown Road/CR 619, continue north;
- Shortly after entering Milford Borough, CR 619 merges into CR 519;
- Proceed to stop light in Milford Borough (intersection of Frenchtown Road/CR 519 and Bridge Street (gas station on right);
- Turn left onto Bridge Street;
- Proceed through Milford’s business district to the bridge at the river;
- Cross the Upper Black Eddy-Milford Toll-Supported Bridge into Pennsylvania and intersection with River Road/PA Route 32;
- Turn left onto River Road/PA Route 32 south;
- Proceed south toward the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge and other points south and west.
Following the establishment of the continuous PA-bound traffic detour, project work will involve the installation of debris-containment/work platforms below the bridge and above the bridge’s vehicular traffic lanes. This project set-up stage is expected to take up to four weeks to complete. During this period, the bridge will remain open to New Jersey-bound traffic and its pedestrian walkway will remain in service.
A bridge walkway closure is expected to begin in March and continue to September. This will allow for removal of the current concrete-filled steel-grid surface and installation a new widened surface.
NJ-bound traffic detours also will need to be instituted periodically for other rehabilitation activities later on in the project (dates and times to be announced when scheduled).
A primary focus for the contractor and its subcontractor this spring will be cleaning of the bridge down to bare metal with repairs being made where needed. A three-coat paint system will later be applied followed by electrical and lighting work.
The rehabilitation of the six-span Warren-truss bridge will include a litany of tasks, including – but not limited to – following:
- Repair various pieces of the bridge’s steel superstructure;
- Clean and repaint all truss sections and underlying bearings;
- Remove the bridge’s current guide rails and install new tubular-steel railings, increasing the bridge’s road deck by seven inches – from 16-feet, six inches to 17 feet, one inch.
- Replace the bridge’s roadway and pedestrian-walkway lighting systems;
- Remove the current concrete-filled steel-grid walkway surface and replace it with a wider system of slip-resistant foam-core fiber-reinforced-polymer panels and new pedestrian hand railings;
- Patch stone masonry spalls and replace concrete approach sidewalk sections;
- Repoint stone masonry and make other masonry repairs; and
- Install a programmable color-changing LED lighting system to highlight the bridge’s architectural profile at night.
A project-specific webpage has been established on the Commission’s website and may be accessed directly through this link: https://www.drjtbc.org/project/frenchtownbridge. (Note: Motorists are urged to reduce speeds and exercise caution whenever traveling through active work zones. All dates and times for travel restrictions and project activities are subject to change due to weather, emergencies, and other factors.)
