PHILLIPSBURG, NJ – The Northampton Street Toll-Supported Bridge (colloquially referred to as the Easton-Phillipsburg “free bridge”) is scheduled to be restricted to single travel lanes in each direction (one of three lanes closed) 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, and Thursday, Sept. 21. Intermittent travel delays are possible.
The travel restrictions will allow work crews to install a series of recently delivered electrical devices needed for the completion of a new programmable color-changing architectural lighting system at the bridge. This punch-list work is a leftover facet of the Northampton Street Toll-Supported Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which began in late 2021 and reached substantial completion in November 2022.
Global supply chain issues delayed the delivery of remaining electrical components that would make the bridge’s architectural lighting system fully operational. Accordingly, project-related lane closures at the bridge were placed on hold in early May.
The bridge lighting work now is expected to be completed in October. Only temporary off-peak weekday single-lane closures are expected to be needed to complete the project’s remaining punch-list work. Single lanes in each direction are to be maintained at the bridge at all times, with an auxiliary left-turn-only lane at the bridge’s Larry Holmes Drive intersection in Easton as often as possible.
To help mitigate possible backups or delays at the weight-restricted 127-year-old bridge, the Commission urges New Jersey-bound motorists to use the nearby Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22) Toll Bridge as an alternate travel route whenever possible. Tolls are not charged in the New Jersey-bound direction at the toll bridge.
The 550-foot-long, 36-foot-wide bridge is the Commission’s busiest non-toll crossing. The bridge has a three-ton weight limit and a 15-mph speed limit. Bridge monitors are stationed at each end of the bridge on a 24/7 basis to prevent crossings of overweight vehicles. More information on the Northampton Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project is available on the Commission website. The direct link is: www.drjtbc.org/project/freebridge.
