WASHINGTON CROSSING – The informational display boards and other materials from this week’s Washington Crossing Bridge Alternatives Analysis’s Public Scoping Open House sessions have been posted online and motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other interested parties can provide comments, alternative ideas, and questions until March 12.
The materials may be viewed on the website www.washingtoncrossingbridge.com, which was established last year for the multi-year research, documentation, and review process currently underway in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The Public Scoping Open House items were posted Feb. 10 — date of the session at The Crossing Church in Upper Makefield, PA. A second session occurred Feb. 11 at the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad in Hopewell Township, N.J. An introductory video about the bridge’s deficiencies and the Washington Crossing Bridge Alternatives Analysis (WCBAA) process also was shown at the sessions and there is a link to it on the WCBAA website. The video, which has been viewed more than 8,800 times, may be directly accessed on the Commission’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRu1u1ZaVyw. A 30-day comment period on the materials is now underway.
The recent open-house-styled sessions were an early public-outreach step in the NEPA-guided WCBAA, allowing attendees to learn about the process and talk with WCBAA team members and Commission representatives. There were 186 signed-in attendees for the session in Pennsylvania and 94 for the session in New Jersey. (Actual attendance numbers might be higher, as some attendees did not sign in.)
The public scoping materials can be viewed online through the alternative analysis website’s “Events” section. Posted materials include the event display boards, the information handout, and the public comment form provided to attendees. Display boards include an overview of the WCBAA, the purpose and need for the undertaking, a photographs of the bridge crossing’s structural and operational deficiencies, a summary of the NEPA process, public resources in the study area, key environmental resource areas being studied, a list of alternatives expected to be evaluated, a graphic depicting potential river-crossing alternatives, the current timeline for the NEPA-guided process, and an outline of anticipated public involvement opportunities.
Where to submit online comment
Individuals who were unable to attend the open house events can now watch the video and review the recently displayed public scoping materials and provide comments or suggest alternatives that might not already be under consideration. Comments can be submitted through March 12 online through the digital comment form — https://hdr.jotform.com/260224953478059 — accessible through the “Events” section on washingtoncrossingbridge.com or through that website’s “Contact” portal: https://www.washingtoncrossingbridge.com/contact.
The alternatives analysis is being undertaken to identify and assess various alternatives for the Washington Crossing Bridge. The process involves topographic surveys, environmental studies, archaeological and cultural resource investigations, and other endeavors aimed at assessing the location and developing a range of alternatives. Generalized categories of alternatives are expected to include no action, replacement, rehabilitation, and/or repurposing the current bridge. The primary objective of the analysis process is to identify a “preferred alternative” that would improve mobility and provide a safe and reliable river crossing.
The public scoping process will help guide the DRJTBC in defining the scope of environmental review, identify significant issues, obtain necessary data, develop feasible alternatives, and understand potential mitigation measures as part of an environmental documentation process.
Additional public events are expected to occur at other key junctures as the alternative analysis progresses.
Of the 20 river crossings in the DRJTBC’s bistate (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) jurisdiction, the Washington Crossing Bridge easily receives the most customer complaints. It is the DRJTBC’s narrowest vehicular bridge with a 15-foot-wide roadway divided into two 7.5-foot travel lanes (one in each direction.) Among motorists complaints are broken mirrors and sideswipes with on-coming vehicles or the bridge structure itself.
The bridge carried an average of 6,500 vehicles a day in 2025 – the same AADT as in 2006. The highest usage years remain 2013 and 2016, when the annual average daily vehicle crossing counts were 7,500.
The bridge has a three-ton weight restriction, which has been in effect since 1995. The restriction is enforced by bridge monitors stationed 24/7 at a shelter adjacent to the bridge’s New Jersey approach. Bridge monitors also are positioned periodically in vehicles along the structure’s Pennsylvania approach.
In 2025, over 1,900 vehicles were turned away to protect the bridge from potential damage that could compromise its structural integrity and operation.
