As a regional transportation agency, the Commission's service responsibility extends to more than a system of bridges crossing the Delaware River. The agency also owns and maintains portions of various roadways and 34 approach bridges serving the main-river bridges. The largest of these ancillary transportation networks is along I-78 in Northampton County, PA and Warren County, N.J., where the Commission is responsible for a combined distance of 6.45 miles of interstate highway.

In September 2012, the Commission began work on a project that aims to refurbish the 2.25 miles of I-78 that it owns in Pennsylvania. This stretch of roadway has not undergone any sort of major construction since it was opened to traffic in November 1989.

Latest Update - This project entered its final stages in June and all three travel lanes in each direction are now open to handle overflow from the Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22) Toll Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which got underway on June 17, 2013.  Remaining single-lane travel restrictions for the project will be confined strictly to overnight periods so as not to conflict with peak travel times at the Route 22 toll bridge upriver.  The following single-lane travel patterns -- which could cause minor to moderate backups or delays) are currently scheduled for Monday, June 17, through Sunday, June 23:

Besides resurfacing with a 4-inch overlay, this project will include:

• Rehabilitation of existing concrete pavements of the both the eastbound and westbound roadways;
• Paving and miscellaneous improvements to access roadway and parking facilities for the Pennsylvania Welcome Center adjacent to the Commission's westbound toll plaza in Williams Township, PA;
• Improvements to bridge decks, joints and approach slabs, including the main river I-78 Toll Bridge - which consists of two separate parallel structures -- and 11 secondary bridge structures (overpasses and underpasses) east and west along I-78;
• Stabilization work on a rock outcropping along eastbound I-78 where a rock slide occurred in April 2011.

The various construction activities are expected to carry over into 2013. Traffic impacts are expected to be moderate since the Commission will compel the contractor to maintain at least two lanes of travel in each direction during hours of peak demand.

Pavement rehabilitation and resurfacing will include the roadway between the Pennsylvania abutments of the I-78 Toll Bridge and the Morgan Hill Road interchange in Pennsylvania. The interchanges ramps also will be included in this work.

The Pennsylvania paving improvements are needed as a result of transverse cracking in the existing I-78 concrete roadway slabs, which have experienced an increased rate of deterioration due to the very high volume of truck traffic on I-78.

I-78 is one of the most heavily used truck corridors in the United States. In 2011 alone, more than 2.4 million westbound trucks passed across the I-78 Toll Bridge, many originating at the New York-North Jersey ports region to take cargo to warehouses in the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg and York, PA. and points west and south.

In 2009, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission completed an extensive rehabilitation project on its 4.2-mile New Jersey portion of I-78. The project was undertaken to address premature cracking of the concrete roadway slabs and settlement of the roadway due to the heavy truck traffic that uses the I-78 corridor every day.

The total program cost for the I-78 Toll Bridge PA Approach Paving Improvements Project is estimated to be $18.5 million. This figure includes all design work, surveys, construction activities, construction management and inspection services, advertising, public awareness activities, etc. The project is part of the Commission's Capital Improvement program, which ultimately is paid for by the tolls collected at the agency's seven toll bridges.

For questions or inquiries regarding this project, the public should contact:

Richard McClellan
Director of Community Affairs
Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
110 Wood and Grove Streets
Morrisville, PA 19067
Email: rmcclellan@drjtbc.org
Phone: 267-790-1063