YARDLEY, PA – A short-duration project aimed at addressing various deficiencies at the approaches to three dual-lane truss bridges linking Bucks and Hunterdon counties is scheduled to begin construction June 1, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) announced today.
The execution of the seven-week-long project’s tasks are anticipated to briefly affect motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists who use the following toll-supported crossings: New Hope-Lambertville, Centre Bridge-Stockton, and Uhlerstown-Frenchtown. The work will be staged among the three bridges and the Commission plans to provide more information on specific dates, times and impacts as the contractor progresses from one location to another.
The breakdown of the significant anticipated work activities and travel impacts at each bridge follows (all dates are tentative and weather-sensitive):
New Hope-Lambertville (June 1 to June 12)
- Patch and recoat the curbing and deteriorating masonry retaining walls at the bridge’s Pennsylvania approach (IMPORTANT – See travel impacts below for both NJ-bound motorists and bridge walkway users.);
- Repair/replace portions of the New Jersey approach curbing;
- Reconfigure the curb return at the northwest corner of Bridge Street and Lambert Lane in New Jersey and install an ADA-compliant curb return; and
- Mill and repave the Commission’s asphalt approach on the New Jersey side, ending at the current Bridge Street/Lambert Lane seam line (the Pennsylvania side was repaved more recently and does not warrant replacement).
Travel impacts: Access to and from the bridge’s walkway on the Pennsylvania side will be diverted into the NJ-bound approach roadway, which will be closed to vehicular traffic and cordoned off from PA-bound traffic with temporary concrete barriers. This temporary configuration is expected to last 12 days, including one weekend. New Jersey-bound traffic will be diverted during this time to the nearby New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) Toll Bridge (non-toll direction). Flagger-controlled alternating single-lane travel for motor vehicles when milling and repaving takes place on the bridge’s New Jersey side.
Centre Bridge-Stockton (June 18-19; June 22 to July 1; July 7-10)
- Replace six storm-water inlets with bicycle-safe grates on the Pennsylvania side;
- Replace/install curbs on the Pennsylvania side;
- Clean culvert and storm-water lines, inlets and drains within the Commission’s jurisdictional approaches at each end of the bridge;
- Extend a sidewalk on the Pennsylvania side;
- Repair the foundation supporting the steel staircase that links bridge’s walkway and Pennsylvania’s Delaware Canal towpath (see travel impacts below for closure information); and
- Mill and resurface the Commission’s asphalt approaches on both sides of the bridge, including around the triangular island on the Pennsylvania side.
Travel impacts: Intermittent flagger-controlled alternating single-lane travel for motor vehicles approaching the bridge when construction and paving activities take place along approach roadways; pedestrians and bicyclists will be unable to utilize the steel staircase connecting the bridge’s walkway and the underlying canal towpath on the Pennsylvania side for up to five days while a new concrete foundation is installed.
Uhlerstown-Frenchtown (June 15-17; overnight closure 10 p.m. July 6 to 6 a.m. July 7)
- Reconfigure the curb and install a curb ramp complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for bridge-walkway access on the New Jersey side;
- Reconfigure the curb and install an ADA curb ramp on the Pennsylvania side; and
- Mill and repave the Commission’s asphalt approaches at both ends of the bridge.
Travel impacts: The bridge’s walkway will need to be closed for a minimum of three days when ADA-compliant curb access work takes place during the third week of June. The bridge’s vehicular lanes will be closed to traffic for milling and paving work during one overnight period the first week of July; motorists are advised to use the nearby Upper Black Eddy-Milford Toll-Supported Bridge as an alternate route during the overnight closure period.
Final Week – Striping at all three bridge locations
The new asphalt approach pavements will be re-striped at the New Hope-Lambertville (July 13), Centre Bridge-Stockton (July 14), and Uhlerstown-Frenchtown (July 15).
Travel impacts: Motorists could encounter brief delays as the restriping work might require flagger-controlled alternating single-lane travel at each applicable bridge approach.
The three-bridge approaches project work is to be conducted by the Mount Construction Company, Inc. of Berlin, N.J. under a job-order contract for slightly more than $420,000.
As with any construction project of this nature, the work schedule and travel impacts are subject to change due to weather, emergencies and other considerations.
