WASHINGTON CROSSING – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today announced that masonry repair work could begin next week at the 120-year-old Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge between Hopewell Township, N.J. and Upper Makefield, PA.
The bridge would be the third of four Commission river crossings to undergo needed masonry repairs in the wake of biennial bridge inspections conducted in 2024. Work on the first bridge needing repairs – the Lumberville-Raven Rock Toll-Supported Pedestrian Bridge between Solebury, PA. and Delaware Township, N.J. – was completed last October. Repairs at a second location – the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge between Trenton, N.J. and Morrisville, PA. – are expected to wrap up this week.
If all goes according to plan, the Washington Crossing Bridge’s masonry repairs will begin Monday morning, May 5.
The six-span steel truss bridge is supported by stone-masonry abutments at each end and five piers in the river. Except for a single reinforced-concrete pier on its Pennsylvania side, the bridge’s piers – at least significant portions of them — date back to original construction between 1833 and 1834. These rubble-filled fieldstone-faced piers rest upon stone-filled timber cribs submerged in the river bottom. Last year’s inspections revealed that portions of the piers have loose stones and sections of failing mortar.
The work at Washington Crossing is expected to be completed in four to six weeks. Adverse weather conditions or unfavorable river levels could affect that schedule. The work is not expected to impact motorists or pedestrians using the bridge.
