Upper Black Eddy-Milford Toll-Supported Bridge Rehabilitation

The start-up date for a traffic shutdown associated with the Upper Black Eddy-Milford Toll-Supported Bridge Rehabilitation Project has been postponed until early 2011.  The Commission chose to delay the bridge closure after taking comments from residents, business owners and elected owners during a public involvement process conducted during spring/summer 2009.

The Commission also chose to accommodate resident requests by deciding to outfit the bridge with a new concrete-filled deck. Finally, the Commission has committed to making "every possible effort" to have the bridge closure (estimated duration of four months) limited to cold-weather months so as not to impact late spring/early summer tourism.  In tandem with these accommodations, the Commission announced that it will utilize an uninterrupted bridge closure schedule when work on the project's major construction elements takes place in early 2011.

The Commission originally proposed to conduct the project in early 2010, but was urged by local businesses to postpone the work because it would come closely on the heels of other construction activities and severe floods in recent years.

The Commission announced its project postponement in mid-September 2009 through letters to businesses, elected officials, and concerned residents and in a press release issued September 21, 2009 (see "News and Travel" section at this Web site.)

The Upper Black Eddy-Milford Toll-Supported Bridge is the newest of the six Warren truss bridges that the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission owns and operates between the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The bridge was constructed in 1933 with a concrete-filled inverted T-beam deck that has remained open to traffic for 76 years. It is the only Warren truss structure in the Commission's inventory that has never undergone rehabilitation.

While annual inspections show the span is safe for the short term, probative steps are needed now to prevent emergency closures that would have profound negative impacts for motorists, businesses, and local communities.

The following are some of the more serious conditions that have been cited in recent inspection reports: moderate to severe corrosion in the floor system beams and stringers, corrosion and upward heaving in sections of the bridge deck, various levels of corrosion in the truss' lower cord and connections, and environmentally hazardous lead paint on virtually all surfaces.

The Commission anticipates that a variety of repairs and improvements will be needed to increase the bridge's lifespan and safety, with a goal of avoiding the need for any major repairs and long-term closures for another 15 years.  Anticipated project elements would include: new floor system, including replacements of various corroded steel beams and stringers; a new bridge deck; new pedestrian sidewalk; new vehicular guiderails; new decorative lighting on the bridge and sidewalk; repair of abutments and piers; removal of existing lead-based paint in a manner that protects the environment; and repainting the bridge with non-lead coatings.

Because of the need to install a new floor system and bridge deck, the Commission will need to close the bridge for at least four months during 2011 to complete the rehabilitation work.  Construction activities that will not require a bridge traffic shutdown, however, will commence during the fall of 2010.

A fact sheet on the project is available here.

As part of the project planning process, the Commission conducted a public-involvement program on both sides of the river before it made its decisions on how it will stage, schedule and perform actual construction work. The public-involvement component helped make affected communities aware of the Commission's rehabilitation plans, affording the public a means to provide comment before the Commission made decisions about the exact nature and schedule of the rehabilitation work.

Besides this project Web page, public involvement included direct meetings with stakeholders (elected officials, business owners, nearby property owners, among others), two open houses for the general public, and news releases announcing major project milestones. 

The project currently is in its final design phase.  The total estimated project cost - including planning, design, construction, oversight etc. - was $12.6 million, but this could change due to the commitment to use a concrete-filled deck and efforts to schedule the bridge's closure to the cold-weather months.  The use of an uninterrupted bridge closure, however, will help mitigate increased costs.  More information on the project's schedule will be forthcoming once final design is completed, and the project is advertised to bidders and a contract is awarded.  (The bridge will not be closed for the project's entire duration; any bridge closure is expected to last for roughly four months.)

The bridge currently has no posted weight limit and its speed limit is 15 mph. In 2008, an average 3,500 trips were made across the bridge daily.

Click here to view Information Boards for the Upper Black Eddy-Milford TSB Rehabilitation Open House Sessions.

Click here to view additional Information Boards for the Upper Black Eddy-Milford TSB Rehabilitation Open House Sessions.

Members of the public who may have questions or concerns about the project are urged to contact:

Richard McClellan
Director of Community Affairs
267-790-1063
rmcclellan@drjtbc.org