5 Ramp Closures Around Scudder Falls Bridge Next Week

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Commuting via the new span of the Scudder Falls Bridge could be a bit of a mess next week, when five ramps around the bridge will be closed.

The ramp closures, which start early on Wednesday, July 24, will impact drivers wanting to exit from or enter onto I-295 in the New Jersey-bound direction around the bridge. Shortly after the ramps are closed, New Jersey-bound traffic on I-295 will be shifted off of the old Scudder Falls Bridge and onto the newly competed span of the replacement bridge.

The five ramp closures are:

• At the I-295/Taylorsville Road interchange (New Hope-Yardley, Exit 10) in Pennsylvania, three ramps will close for three weeks (ending Aug. 15)
• The I-295 eastbound off-ramp to Taylorsville Road
• The Taylorsville Road southbound entry ramp to I-295 EB/SB immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge
• The Taylorsville Road northbound entry ramp to I-295 EB/SB immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge.

On the bridge’s New Jersey side, two ramps will close:

• At the I-295/Route 29 interchange (Exit 76), the off-ramp to Rt. 29 immediately after crossing the new bridge from Pennsylvania into New Jersey will close for three weeks (ending Aug. 15)
• The entry ramp to I-295 SB at nearby NJ Route 175/River Road, the entrance ramp to I-295 SB will be shut down for at least a year. (This ramp closure was previously expected to begin July 15, but was postponed.)

According to officials, the four, three-week ramp closures and detours will let construction crews extend those ramps to the new, temporary alignment of I-295 near the new toll bridge's completed span.

That new alignment will allow crews to demolish the 60-year-old Scudder Falls Bridge and build a second replacement span, which is expected to be open to traffic in either late 2020 or early 2021.

The plan, according to officials with the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project, is to dismantle the old bridge in sections. As sections get removed, crews will begin building the second replacement span.

For more information, including details about travel restrictions next week as the ramps are closed and detours started, visit the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project website.