I-95/Scudder Falls Bridge Improvement Project

Since 2003, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has been making preparations for the I-95/Scudder Falls Bridge Improvement Project. It is shaping up to be the largest construction project in the Commission's 75-year history.  A fact sheet issued at the open house/public hearing sessions held in January 2010 is available for viewing by clicking here.

The project will extend 4.4 miles along I-95 from PA Route 332 in Bucks County, PA to Bear Tavern Road in Mercer County, N.J. and will include a complete replacement of the existing four-lane Scudder Falls Bridge over the Delaware River.  The multi-element project also will include safety upgrades to the two highway interchanges at both ends of the bridge, widening of I-95 to the inside from the bridge to Route 322 in Pennsylvania, and construction of shoulders on the bridge crossing to handle breakdowns and emergencies.  The two inside shoulder lanes would have the capacity to serve proposed bus/rapid transit routes.  The Commission also has announced that it will install a bike/ped walkway on the bridge's upstream side to connect canal paths on both sides of the river.

The current span was the most heavily traveled span in the Commission's 20-bridge inventory in 2008, carrying an average 58,300 cars and trucks a day. Traffic volumes are projected to rise an additional 35 percent -- to 77,500 vehicles per day - by the year 2030.  The bridge turned 50 years old on October 29, 2009, and a press release about the occasion is available for viewing by clicking here.

The congestion and safety problems on the bridge were first articulated in the 1990 Traffic Study of Trenton-Morrisville Bridge Crossings over the Delaware River. In 2000, the Commission retained a consultant to conduct the Southerly Crossings Corridor Study, which examined ways to meet the future traffic demands of the Scudder Falls Bridge and the three nearby vehicular bridge crossings between Trenton, N.J. and Morrisville, Pa. This study attributed the Scudder Falls Bridge's congestion and safety problems to its narrow configuration and the close proximity of adjoining interchanges with entrance ramps merging onto I-95.

The DRJTBC is working with a consultant team of engineers, planners, environmental scientists, and other specialists to address the multi-faceted challenges associated with this bridge and its approach roadways. An Environmental Assessment (EA) crafted in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration was released for public review on December 9, 2009.  The document's release triggered a public-comment period that lasted until February 4, 2010.  During this time frame, the Commission held a public hearing that consisted of open house and public testimony at two different locations (one New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania) on separate dates in January 2010. The EA includes environmental studies, preliminary engineering analyses, and explanations of various alternatives that were considered to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on the bridge and approach roadways. The FHWA is the agency ultimately responsible for granting a finding of no significant impact after the EA comment process is completed.  This most recent process was in addition to the considerable number of previous open houses, municipal meetings and stakeholder group sessions where the Commission publicly aired and discussed various project options.

In August 2008, the DRJTBC provided a consolidated outline of what it considers to be the best approach for executing the project. This "Preferred Alternative" consists of the following elements for the project's four segments:

• Widen I-95 in Pennsylvania from PA 332 to the inside by adding one travel lane in each direction through utilization of the current grass median along that roadway stretch.

• Reconfigure the Taylorsville Road Interchange in Lower Makefield Twp., Pa. by eliminating the existing eastern southbound off-ramp from I-95 and combining it with the existing western southbound off-ramp. All other existing ramps at the interchange -- the northbound off-ramp, the two northbound on-ramps, and the southbound on-ramp -- would be retained with minor alignment modifications. This segment option also includes a variety of other improvements, including modifications to I-95 acceleration and deceleration lanes to improve traffic safety and flow in the interchange area.

• Replace the existing outdated four-lane Scudder Falls Bridge with an entirely new structure on the upstream side with overlapping of the current bridge footprint. The new structure would have six lanes of through traffic (three in each direction) with two auxiliary northbound lanes for entry/exit travel and one auxiliary southbound lane entry/exit travel. The recommended option also calls for full inside and outside roadway shoulders. The Commission decided in early 2010 to add a bicycle and pedestrian facility on the upstream side of the bridge's southbound span.
  
• Reconstruct and reconfigure the Route 29 interchange through the use of roundabouts. This option would avoid traffic signals, resulting in a folded diamond interchange with two roundabout intersections at the ramps with I-95. Bypasses for NJ Route 29 northbound and southbound traffic would be retained and improved acceleration and deceleration lanes will be provided on to I-95. The stop-sign at the southbound I-95 on-ramp will be eliminated as will the existing I-95 on-ramp from NJ Route 175 (Upper River Road).

A more detailed explanation of the Commission's Preferred Alternative is available in the environmental assessment available for viewing at a separate Web site created especially for the I-95/Scudder Falls Bridge Improvement Project. This site - www.scudderfallsbridge.com -- also contains additional information and an updated status report. An icon link to the project site additionally may be found on the Commission's home page.

In December 2009, the Commission voted to establish a toll for the Scudder Falls crossing to help raise sufficient revenue for the agency's Capital Improvement Program, of which the $310 million I-95/Scudder Falls Bridge Improvement Project would be the largest single undertaking.  A "cashless tolling" system of high-resolution cameras and E-ZPass transponder readers would be used to collect revenues, technology that would avert the need for conventional cash toll booths.  Tolls would be collected in the southbound direction (going from New Jersey to Pennsylvania like all of the other toll bridges spannig the Delaware River between the two states).

The Commission is a self-funded agency that receives no federal or state dollars or gasoline tax proceeds to supports its capital program or operations.  The Commission moved to toll the Scudder Falls Bridge because it did not feel it would be reasonable or fair to expect the users of its other toll bridges to shoulder the entire financial burden of the capital improvements to the Scudder Fall Bridge, its nearby interchanges and the I-95 corridor.  Over the year, users of the I-80 and I-78 bridges in particular have questioned the propriety of being charged a toll to cross those spans while I-95 motorists enjoyed a toll-free crossing supported, in part, by tolls collected at I-80 and I-78.

Tolling the Scudder Falls Bridge would have its users share in the cost burden of the project's significant transportation-infrastructure and safety improvements that will enhance motorist safety and provide new capacity to meet future traffic demands. A press release announcing the tolling decision is available in the News and Travel section of this Web site, or by clicking here. 

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