NEW HOPE, PA – The New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge is scheduled to be closed to all vehicular traffic during overnight hours – 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. – on the nights of Tuesday, Nov. 18, to Thursday, Nov. 21, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) announced today.
The overnight vehicular traffic shutdown is needed so work crews can safely remove the temporary overhead containment structure on the bridge. The overnight closures also will enable work crews to install newly rehabilitated guide rails along the bridge’s upstream travel lanes.
The bridge has been undergoing a comprehensive rehabilitation project throughout much of this year. To carry out the project, a New Jersey-bound traffic detour has been in effect since late January and pedestrian crossings have been restricted to a temporary walkway on the bridge’s roadway deck since mid-July.
The bridge’s temporary walkway will remain open during the upcoming overnight vehicular travel lane closures, however, there will be periods when flaggers will need to halt pedestrian crossings to ensure safe removal of the overhead platform sections. Pedestrian delays could be up to 10-minute durations in some cases. Pedestrian traffic is light during overnight periods.
The bridge is expected to reopen to Pennsylvania-bound vehicular traffic and uninterrupted pedestrian crossings after each respected overnight restricted-travel period next week.
The upcoming overnight vehicular-traffic closures are unrelated to this summer’s discovery of a deteriorated critical structural connection in the bridge’s second span from the Pennsylvania side. A date-specific schedule for addressing that situation, which is unrelated to the current bridge rehabilitation project, is anticipated to be announced later this month.
