Photo courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
The Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll Supported Bridge connects Bridge Street in Frenchtown, N.J., with PA Route 32/River Road in the Uherlstown section of Tinicum Township in Pennsylvania.
The 92-year-old Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll-Supported Bridge over the Delaware River, connecting rural areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is scheduled to be rehabilitated in 2025.
That was the word recently from the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC), followed by the body's approval of a contract with WSP USA Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Exton, Pa., to design the work.
According to MyCentralJersey.com, a network of regional news publications, the planned rehabilitation is intended to put the bridge in a good state of condition and extend its service life so it will not need a major upgrade for another 15 years.
The two-state DRJTBC envisions the major tasks of the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge's rehabilitation project will include:
- Fixing various pieces of the bridge's steel superstructure.
- Cleaning and repainting the span's steel superstructure and underlying bearings.
- Repairing the bridge's abutments, piers, and retaining walls.
- Installing a programmable LED lighting system to highlight the bridge's architectural profile at night along the river. This would be the third DRJTBC bridge to be outfitted with such a lighting system.
The six-span bridge has a 15-ton weight limit, a 12-ft.-6-in. height restriction and a 15-mph speed limit. It also is narrow, with a clear roadway width of 16-ft.-6-in. curb to curb. A concrete-filled steel grating sidewalk is supported by the upriver truss on steel cantilever brackets.
Last year, the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge carried an average of 4,200 vehicles per day to and from the Borough of Frenchtown in Hunterdon County, N.J., and the Uhlerstown section of Tinicum Township in Bucks County, Pa., via N.J. Highway 12 and Pa. Highway 32.
The design process is expected to be completed this fall, according to the current project schedule.
MyCentralJersey.com noted that the contract for the rehab could be awarded by the start of 2025, followed by the beginning of the work itself in the late winter, and a likely completion toward the end of 2025.
The Warren truss bridge's current riveted-steel superstructure first opened to traffic on Oct. 10, 1931, but the stone piers supporting it were built much earlier in 1843. Its last upgrade occurred in 2001.
Engineering Firm to Embark on Several Critical Tasks
An initial task for WSP USA will be to perform a detailed bridge inspection to confirm and identify conditions to be addressed as part of the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge rehabilitation project, DRJTBC noted in a Jan. 29 news release. These inspections could require periodic alternating single-lane travel restrictions at the bridge.
Additionally, WSP USA is directed to examine the bridge walkway's condition to see if it warrants replacement or repairs.
After the bridge inspection process, engineers with the firm will map a course of action to address identified issues with the bridge and plan the other major tasks the DRJTBC has budgeted to be conducted within the overall effort.
WSP USA also will develop drawings, list structural details, compile construction specifications and map traffic-control plans that might be needed.
The DRJTBC is likely to hold public forums on each side of the Delaware River during the latter part of the design work.
The meetings will inform residents, motorists and businesses about the project's purpose, and the bridge's conditions that need rehabilitation or repair. Plans call for the open houses to present renderings of the proposed bridge lighting, any travel restrictions that might be needed to carry out the improvement project and its anticipated work schedule.
A specific online page will soon be created by the DRJTBC on the agency's website — www.drjtbc.org — to inform the public about the bridge project. The page will be updated periodically as more information becomes available during the span's design and construction.
One Tough Old Bridge
The original bridge at the current Delaware River crossing point operated for 60 years before the "pumpkin flood" of Oct. 10, 1903, carried away the two wooden spans nearest the New Jersey approach. They were replaced with steel through truss spans in 1905, but the bridge's original masonry substructure — five piers and two abutments — still remains in service today.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey jointly purchased the toll bridge in June 1929 and immediately made it toll-free. Later, its wooden road deck was replaced with a steel open-grate deck in 1949.
Thirty-eight years after that, the two states transferred ownership to the DRJTBC, which operates and maintains the structure with a portion of the proceeds from its eight toll bridges.
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