FRENCHTOWN, NJ – Only four days remain for the public to provide comment on informational materials that have been made available for the 2025 Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge Rehabilitation Project.
The public comment period is scheduled to expire 4 p.m. Friday, July 12. Project planning will then shift into the final-design stage.
Motorists, area residents, business owners, and other interested parties are urged to examine an array of online materials – including a fact sheet and open-house display boards – outlining and describing aspects of the upcoming bridge rehabilitation project. The materials are posted on the project webpage at: https://www.drjtbc.org/project/frenchtownbridge.
The materials include general existing conditions, planned major project tasks, an updated project timeline, traffic detours, the sequencing of two envisioned work stages, and information/renderings about new bridge roadway lighting, walkway lighting, and a programmable/dimmable color-enabled LED lighting system that would highlight the bridge’s architectural profile.
Online comment can be made through the comment form at the bottom of the project webpage or by sending an email to CommunityAffairs@drjtbc.org. Important note: Anonymous comments shall not be included in the project comment-period record and will be discarded.
The comment period is an extension of open houses the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission – the bridge’s owner/operator — hosted June 24 in Tinicum Township, PA. and June 25 in Frenchtown, N.J.
The bridge’s rehabilitation is expected to include the following major tasks:
- Repair various pieces of the bridge’s steel superstructure;
- Clean and repaint the bridge’s steel superstructure and underlying bearings;
- Widen of the bridge walkway from its current 3-foot, 9-inch width to new a 5-feet-wide clearance;
- Replace the current concrete-filled steel-grate walkway surface with new anti-skid closed-cell-foam fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) panels and install new railings;
- Install a low-watt walkway lighting system;
- Repair the bridge’s abutments, piers, and retaining walls; and
- Replace the concrete at the bridge portals and recondition/relubricate bridge bearings.
- Install a new electrical-supply system;
- Replace the bridge’s roadway lights with new fixtures and energy-efficient lights;
- Install a dimmable color-programable LED architectural-lighting system.
The upcoming rehabilitation aims to put the bridge in a good state of condition and extend its service life so it will not need major repairs for another 15 years. The bridge’s current steel superstructure opened to traffic on October 10, 1931. It was last rehabilitated in 2001. The bridge links the Borough of Frenchtown in Hunterdon County, N.J. with the Uhlerstown section of Tinicum Township in Bucks County, PA.
The Commission in January awarded a $1.77 million contract with the engineering firm WSP USA to design the project. WSP is expected to complete final design work in the fall. Project construction could then be advertised for competitive bids and a contract award by the start of 2025. Project construction would then begin in early 2025 and reach completion later in the year.
The Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll-Supported Bridge is a six-span riveted steel Warren truss structure. The bridge’s original wooden road deck was replaced with a steel open-grate deck in 1949. The bridge is narrow, with a clear roadway width of 16-feet 6-inches curb to curb. A concrete-filled steel grating sidewalk is supported by the upriver truss on steel cantilever brackets.
The aging bridge has a 15-ton weight limit, a 12’-6” height restriction, and a 15 MPH speed limit. It carried an average of 4,200 vehicles per day in 2023.
Note: A toll-supported bridge is free for the public’s use, but the cost of operating and maintaining the bridge is funded by a portion of the tolls the Commission collects at its eight toll bridges.
