UPDATED: Thursday: 4:15 p.m.:
The move to the temporary walkway has been moved to 7 a.m. Friday.
The delay from Thursday was due to the unrelated gas work on the City of Lambertville side of the bridge, according to Joe Donnelly, the deputy executive director of communications for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
Original Story:
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has announced that the pedestrian walkway of the New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge will close early Thursday morning.
A temporary walkway across the bridge’s road deck will be made available for public use and shuttle service will being offered.
The commission initially planned for a walkway closure this week, but it was rescheduled to next week. However, due to a change in the gas utility work schedule on the City of Lambertville side, the closure was moved back to this week, officials said.
In a statement, the commission referred to the situation as an “elusive start date.”
“The switch of bridge walkway surfaces is now predicated on the installation of a natural-gas supply line within the already-cordoned downstream travel lane on the bridge’s Lambertville side. That gas utility work is scheduled to occur – Wednesday, July 10. If that work is completed in a single day as anticipated, the switch of bridge walkways should occur by 6 a.m. Thursday,” the commission said.
The current walkway, which is 20 years old and nearing the end of its service life, needs to be closed for replacement.
Credit: Jason Mitchell
The project contractor will be cleaning and repainting the bridge’s downstream steel truss sections from now until late September.
The commission said: “The project contractor and its subcontractors have already moved quickly to set up the bridge for this next major work stage. Pennsylvania-bound traffic was shifted back to its normal upstream lane two weeks ago. Subsequently, a temporary steel traffic barrier was installed across the bridge to separate vehicular traffic from a 6-foot-wide temporary walkway to be installed on a portion of the bridge’s adjacent downstream lane. Additionally, a steel partition wall was installed across the bridge today to shield temporary walkway users from next-work-stage construction and painting activities. Painting containment measures also were being installed today on the bridge’s Pennsylvania side.”
The bulk of the temporary walkway installation work is expected to occur Wednesday as the initial gas-utility work takes place. A second day of gas utility work is expected on Thursday.
Due to the temporary walkway’s narrower width of six feet, the commission plans to operate a temporary courtesy shuttle between New Hope Borough and the City of Lambertville while the bridge’s permanent walkway is out of service.
The ADA-accessible shuttle will operate daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with designated stops in New Hope Borough and the City of Lambertville.
Each one-way trip will take approximately 12 minutes, crossing the river at the nearby New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) Toll Bridge.
The bridge project, which began in late January, focuses on several key aspects of the bridge’s structure and aesthetics. It includes replacing the walkway’s fiberglass panels, cleaning and repainting the steel-truss superstructure, and repairing or replacing any deteriorated steel components. Additionally, the project will upgrade both roadway and walkway lighting to energy-efficient LED lights, featuring a programmable, color-changing LED lighting system designed to highlight the bridge’s Pratt-truss architectural profile.
Leave a Comment