BELVIDERE, NJ – The Riverton-Belvidere Toll-Supported Bridge’s pedestrian walkway is scheduled to be shut down July 22 so needed repairs can be made to bulging masonry wing walls on the structure’s Pennsylvania side, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced today.
Once started, the walkway closure is estimated to remain in place without interruption for up to 35 days. Weather permitting, that means pedestrian access could be restored by August 25.
The bridge’s 3-foot-7-inch-wide walkway is lightly used compared to other Commission river crossings with pedestrian access. The Commission is urging any impacted pedestrians at the Riverton-Belvidere location to make alternate plans while the walkway closure is in effect.
The two-lane bridge is expected to remain open to motor-vehicle traffic while the wing-wall repairs are made. However, occasional alternating single-lane travel restrictions might be needed for some repair tasks.
The walkway must be shut down because the approach sidewalk on the bridge’s Pennsylvania side rests partially on a stone-masonry retaining wall that is bulging to the point of becoming unstable and potentially dangerous. The retaining wall supports the approach roadway leading to and from the bridge. It’s unclear how old the wall’s stone-masonry portions are, but it’s possible they date back to the first wooden bridge that opened at this location in 1836.
The repairs on the bridge’s upstream wingwall will require removal of the approach sidewalk’s steel safety railings and removal of some sidewalk sections.
The repairs – which will be made to both the upstream and downstream wing walls on the Pennsylvania approach — will include concrete and masonry work, structural backfilling, and drainage and waterproofing improvements.
The work is to be performed by the Mount Construction Company, Inc. of Berlin, N.J. under a job-order contract. Project-preparation activities are expected to begin near the bridge next week.
The Riverton-Belvidere Toll-Supported Bridge is a four-span riveted-steel double-Warren truss structure constructed in 1904. It connects the Riverton section of Lower Mount Bethel Township in Northampton County, PA. with the Town of Belvidere in Warren County, N.J. The bridge has an 8-ton weight restriction and a 15-MPH speed limit. It carried an average 4,100 vehicles per day in 2023.
Note: A toll-supported bridge is free for the public’s use, but the cost of operating and maintaining the bridge is funded by a portion of the tolls the Commission collects at its eight toll bridges.
