MORRISVILLE, PA. – Masonry repair work is expected to begin sometime next week on the stone piers that support the 140-year-old Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge between Trenton, N.J. and Morrisville, PA., the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) announced today.
The bridge will be the second of four Commission river crossings to undergo masonry repairs after inspections found instances of failing mortar and loose stones in their respective 19th-century in-river piers earlier this year. The upcoming repairs at the Calhoun Street Bridge will take place on the river and will not impact motorists or pedestrians using the bridge.
The outside contractor that will perform the repairs is currently wrapping up its work on the Lumberville-Raven Rock Toll-Supported Pedestrian Bridge between Solebury, PA. and Delaware Township, N.J. That bridge’s piers were determined to be in the most need of repairs. Work at that location began in late July.
The Calhoun Street Bridge pier repairs are expected to be performed over the next six to eight weeks. When completed, the repair crew will shift to the Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge and then the Riverton-Belvidere Toll-Supported Bridge.
Except for a single reinforced-concrete pier at Washington Crossing, the piers at all four bridges date back to the mid-19th century. Washington Crossing’s date to 1833-34, Riverton-Belvidere’s to 1835-36, Lumberville-Raven Rock’s to 1853-55, and Calhoun Street’s to 1859-60. The piers are rubble-filled with stone-filled timber-crib foundations.
The need to repair the bridge piers’ stonework is the result of biennial inspections required by federal law.
