Calhoun St. Bridge Rehab Work Begins May 24th
Project Will Employ Round-the-Clock Bridge Closure
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has awarded two contracts to carry out the rehabilitation project scheduled to take place later this year at the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge, one of three bridges the Commission operates between Trenton and Morrisville.
Construction activities are currently scheduled to begin on May 24th and the work will require the bridge to be closed throughout the summer, a time of year when bridge traffic numbers decline slightly.
The project includes:
- replacement of the bridge roadway floor system,
- repairs of the iron truss,
- blast cleaning and painting of the superstructure,
- repairs to the substructure and approach roadways; and
- improvements to the bridge rail and sidewalk safety features.
The rehabilitation effort will entail the full closure of the bridge to traffic and pedestrians for four months. An uninterrupted round-the-clock, seven-days-a-week bridge closure had been favored by 77 percent of the public who indicated a construction preference during a public involvement process the Commission conducted last year in Trenton and Morrisville, the bridge’s two host communities. The Commission also agreed to public requests to executive the rehabilitation project during the warm-weather months. The Commission has created a specific Web page to provide the public with up-to-date information on the upcoming rehabilitation.
About The Bridge
At a 125 years old, the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge is the oldest of the 28 bridges (motor vehicle and pedestrian) that currently span the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The bridge connects Calhoun Street in Trenton, NJ with Trenton Avenue in Morrisville, PA. The span carried a daily average of 18,400 vehicles in 2008 and is used heavily by Pennsylvania residents who commute to jobs in Trenton.
Built in 1884, the bridge is a Phoenix Pratt truss with a total length of 1,274 feet — the longest through truss bridge in the Commission’s 20-bridge inventory. It is the only Commission Bridge constructed completely of wrought iron. Its iron components were produced by the same company that manufactured the internal iron work for the Washington Monument in our nation’s capital.
