The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission recently approved a contract with WSP USA, Inc. of Exton, Pennsylvania, to design a rehabilitation project expected to be carried out on the 92-year-old Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll-Supported Bridge.
Currently, the envisioned rehabilitation project’s major tasks include:
- Repair various pieces of the bridge’s steel superstructure
- Clean and repaint the bridge’s steel superstructure and underlying bearings
- Repairs to the bridge’s abutments, piers, and retaining walls
- Install a programmable LED lighting system to highlight the bridge’s architectural profile at night along the river. This would be the third Commission bridge to be outfitted with such a lighting system
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 rehabilitation for another 15 years. The bridge’s current steel superstructure opened to traffic on October 10, 1931. It was last rehabilitated in 2001. The bridge links the Borough of Frenchtown in Hunterdon County, N.J. with the Uhlerstown section of Tinicum Township in Bucks County, PA.
WSP USA’s design contract award is for an amount not to exceed $1,771,189. A significant design objective for WSP will entail sequencing the rehabilitation project’s tasks and identifying the range of travel impacts that may be necessary to carry out project construction in 2025.
An initial task for WSP USA is performing a detailed bridge inspection to confirm and identify bridge conditions to be addressed under the rehabilitation project. These inspections could require periodic alternating single-lane travel restrictions at the bridge. WSP USA also is directed to examine the bridge walkway’s condition to see if warrants replacement or repairs.
The current project schedule anticipates the design process reaching completion in the fall. Project construction could then be advertised for competitive bids and a contract award by the start of 2025. Project construction would then begin by late winter 2025 and reach completion later that year.
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Source: Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
