PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For drivers who use the twin-span Delaware Memorial Bridge, a final stretch of inconvenience will start right after Labor Day, as the yearlong redecking project nears completion.
Since last fall, crews have been working to install a new deck on the older New Jersey-bound span of the bridge. That span was built in 1951. The Delaware-bound bridge opened in 1968.
The redecking is 75% finished, according to Delaware River and Bay Authority spokesman Jim Salmon.
On the night of Sept. 4, crews will begin setting up a bypass lane that will shift northbound traffic that would normally be on the Jersey-bound span over onto one lane of the Delaware-bound bridge.
“When the bypass lane is created, there’ll be three lanes in each direction on the bridges heading both north and south,” Salmon told KYW Newsradio.
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“It’s for cars only. And it’s those vehicles that are bound for the New Jersey Turnpike. You won’t be able to exit for the Route 49 or the I-295 interchange [from the bypass lane].”
On the Jersey-bound span where the redecking is going on, the two right lanes will be closed until the $71 million project is completed. Salmon says that’s expected by Thanksgiving.
“We’ve been holding on schedule and we expect that to be the case in this Phase Three,” Salmon said.