The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) recently announced that it is initiating a project to repair failing mortar and loose stones on the in-river piers that support four of the agency’s non-toll bridges.
The project will be sequenced one bridge at a time, with the order determined by each location’s respective conditions and need for attention.
Based on these criteria, the four stone piers supporting the Lumberville-Raven Rock Toll-Supported Pedestrian Bridge between Solebury, PA and Delaware Township, NJ will be addressed first. The bridge will remain open for use while masons work below the structure’s walkway surface over the coming weeks.
After the repairs are completed at Lumberville-Raven Rock, work will shift downstream to the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge between Trenton, NJ and Morrisville, PA.
The two other bridges needing pier repairs are the Riverton-Belvidere Toll-Supported Bridge between Lower Mt. Bethel, PA and Belvidere, NJ.; and the Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge between Upper Makefield, PA and Hopewell Township, NJ. The sequencing of which of these two bridges will be worked on first has yet to be determined.
Like Lumberville-Raven Rock, the Calhoun Street (six piers), Riverton-Belvidere (three piers) and Washington Crossing (five piers) bridges should remain in service while undergoing masonry repairs.
Collectively, the pier repairs at the four bridges are expected to take 30 weeks to complete, a schedule that will carry over into 2025.
Except for a single reinforced-concrete pier at Washington Crossing, the piers at all four bridges date back to the mid-nineteenth century. Washington Crossing’s bridge dates back to 1833-34; Riverton-Belvidere’s bridge dates back to 1835-36; Lumberville-Raven Rock’s bridge dates back to 1853-55; and Calhoun Street’s bridge dates back to 1859-60. The need to repair the bridge piers’ stonework is the result of recent inspections. In accordance with federal law, the Commission inspects its bridges every two years.