Site Work To Begin By Year's End On New Hope-Lambertville Bridge

NEW HOPE-LAMBERTVILLE — The rehabilitation of the 119-year-old New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge is set to begin by the end of this year with site preparation with work starting in 2024, according to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. The six-span steel Pratt-truss superstructure was last rehabilitated in 2004.

According to the commission, the project design was completed in September and the project was put out to bid for a contractor. The current schedule is for early site preparations to begin in December, followed by construction activities in 2024 — the 120th anniversary year of the current steel bridge’s construction.

The project is not expected to require a full bridge closure. Project staging should allow uninterrupted westbound vehicular travel (Pennsylvania-bound) through the duration of construction activities.

The rehabilitation includes a complete “taken-down-to-bare-metal” and re-painting of the entire structure. Paint enclosures will be required for the work, limiting vehicular crossings (westbound only) to either the bridge’s upstream or downstream sides for prolonged periods. Identified structural issues will be repaired.

The pedestrian walkway will be completely replaced while that half of the bridge undergoes containment and painting. The walkway railing will be removed during this period and sent off-site for re-anodization. The commission aims to have the walkway work take place during the early cold-weather months of 2024, when foot traffic is significantly lower.

After painting and repairs are completed, the bridge will be outfitted with a programmable LED lighting system to enhance the truss bridge’s profile along the river.

The rehabilitation project work activities will temporarily impact motorists, pedestrians, residents, and local businesses.

Travel Impacts

December 2023

• Periodic off-peak alternating single-lane vehicular travel restrictions on weekdays. This is expected to be the contractor’s mobilization period, when installation of the under-bridge platform for the rehabilitation begins.

January to early April 2024

• The bridge remains open to westbound travel (PA-bound), thereby enabling motorists to continue avoiding the PA-bound tolls (Route 202 southbound) at the toll bridge one mile upstream. Meanwhile, eastbound vehicular travel from New Hope to Lambertville will be detoured over the toll bridge’s non-toll NJ-bound direction (Route 202 north) one mile upstream. The pedestrian walkway will be shutdown from January to mid-April as the current walkway panels and accompanying railings get removed. New walkway panels will be installed, while the railings will be re-anodized and then reinstalled. The Commission has committed to provide — and is now in the process of procuring — a shuttle service to transport individuals affected by the temporary walkway closure. More information can be provided once the service is procured.

Mid-April to late May 2024

• The workway work is staged to be completed and reopened before Lambertville’s annual Shad Fest. Westbound vehicular travel will be shifted to the bridge’s downstream lane, allowing the bridge’s upstream side to be placed in containment for paint removal and repainting. Eastbound traffic will continues to be detoured across the nearby toll bridge’s non-tolled direction (Route 202 northbound).

Late May to September

• The bridge will be fully opened on weekends only by Memorial Day. An eastbound vehicular traffic detour via the non-toll direction at the toll bridge will be in effect around-the-clock on weekdays.

All project-related travel restrictions — short- and long-term — are scheduled to end on Sept. 19, 2024.