PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) recently awarded contracts for a 2027 project that will reconstruct sidewalks, replace supporting steel work, and improve drainage on the Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22) Toll Bridge’s adjoining New Jersey approach viaduct.
The viaduct carries Route 22 traffic in both directions over Broad Street and former Pennsylvania Railroad property in Phillipsburg, N.J. The elevated 430-foot-long, five-span structure was constructed with the toll bridge between 1936 and 1938.
Like the toll bridge, the viaduct has sidewalks on its upstream and downstream sides. While lightly used, the sidewalks have deteriorated to the point where there have been instances of concrete pieces breaking loose and falling within the past two years. Commission maintenance forces made repairs and have installed netting beneath the sidewalks over Broad Street to avert pedestrian injuries and damage to motor vehicles crossing beneath the viaduct. A recent inspection also identified several areas where steel floor beams, girders, and stringers supporting the sidewalk need to be replaced.
The upcoming project will make a more permanent fix to the situation. Specific construction activities will include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
- Sidewalks: Demolish the current sidewalks and install new concrete sidewalks. As part of that work, the sidewalk surfaces will be sloped to channel water onto the adjoining roadway rather than directly off the viaduct.
- Support Structure: Before each new sidewalk gets installed, portions of the underlying steel work supporting the sidewalks will be replaced and/or reinforced as warranted.
- Drainage: To improve drainage on the viaduct, two additional storm-water inlets will be installed along the structure’s roadway surface.
- Steel work painting: The sidewalk’s supporting steel will be cleaned and painted as warranted.
- Electronic Surveillance System (ESS) and electrical conduits: Fiber-optic and electrical conduits to bridge security cameras will be replaced and relocated and new service cabinets will be installed. Conduit and innerduct for lighting infrastructure will be replaced where warranted.
Two contracts for the project were approved by the Commission at its Sept. 28 meeting in Yardley, PA.
The construction contract was awarded to Sparwick Contracting of Lafayette, N.J. for a not-to-exceed amount of $4,472,472. A corresponding construction management/inspections contract was awarded to Envision Consultants, Ltd. of Mullica Hill, N.J. for a not-to-exceed amount of $1,114,338.23.
Project preparations are expected to begin later this year with measuring and surveying of the project area and purchasing of materials. It’s anticipated that demolition and construction activities – with corresponding travel impacts for motorists and pedestrians – will begin in early 2027 and continue into fall 2027.
To enable uninterrupted passage of pedestrians across the viaduct and the toll bridge while the project takes place, the plan is to replace one sidewalk at a time. Details about the sequence of work activities and associated travel impacts will be announced after the contractor is provided notice to proceed and a firm start date for demolition/construction activities is established.
The Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge carries U.S. Route 22 traffic over the Delaware River. The first of eight toll bridges to be constructed and operated by the Commission, the bridge opened to traffic on January 14, 1938. It was originally named the Bushkill Street Bridge. The name was changed to the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge in the 1950s, when elevated highway approaches were constructed through Easton. In 2025, the bridge carried average daily traffic of 34,400 vehicles.
