This arch-truss bridge has a length of 6571' (2km, 1 1/4 mile) and a main span of 682' (208m). [BridgeHunter]
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| Photo from Wikimedia Commons via BridgeHunter |
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| Metrotrails posted PA Turnpike bridge seen from the Florence NJ side, Delaware River Metrotrails shared |
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| Michael E Pearson added The Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge carries Interstate 95 across the Delaware River via a 1956 built, 682 foot [208m] steel arch span; with a total length of 6751 feet [2km], connecting the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes between Bucks and Burlington Counties in PA & NJ respectively. This was not a low pass drone shot, but rather, it was handheld from onboard a boat. |
I think it is more accurate to call it a continuous truss instead of an arch truss. I wondered why Historic Bridges didn't document this bridge because Nathan is better at identifying a continuous truss. So, I took a closer look at a gusset plate. It uses bolts instead of rivets. Bolts are Nathan's criteria for a modern bridge instead of a historic bridge. This bridge must be bleeding edge in terms of using bolts. You can see it is a transition of technology because it uses rivets instead of welds to build the beams. (Update: Jon H comments below that the bolts were probably used during an upgrade. It was probably built with rivets. Jon also mentioned that I-95 was rerouted to this bridge in the mid 2000's.)
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| Street View, Sep 2023 |
I knew the Pennsy Turnpike was I-76 in the Pittsburgh area. I didn't know where the turnpike crossed the Delaware River so I followed I-76 east across the state. When I found myself down in Philadelphia on the Walt Whitman Bridge, I knew that the turnpike must divert to some other Interstate in the east. So I found this map and determined that it goes from I-76 to I-276 and then to I-95 just before the river.
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| paturnpike |
Just two lanes in each direction carries the east/west traffic of the turnpike and the north/south traffic of I-95. I confirmed that they squeeze three lanes down to two before the bridge. I wonder how much congestion that choke point causes.
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| Satellite |
Apr 2026:
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| Federal Highway Administration posted U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a $600 million investment to rebuild the Delaware River Bridge connecting PA and NJ to tackle gridlock on I-95, the east coast’s busiest highway. Secretary Duffy: “On the East Coast alone, this $600 million investment will rebuild essential arteries that feed our nation’s economy and support tens of thousands of jobs.” FHWA Administrator McMaster: “The Trump Administration is revitalizing essential arteries that drive our nation’s economic dominance.” Read the press release: https://highways.dot.gov/.../trumps-transportation... [According to some comments, the post originally had a photo of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Fortunately, someone figured out how to change it to this photo. I copied Steve's comment below because of the link.] Steve Anderson: Wrong Delaware River Bridge in the photo. The $600 million investment will go to the Delaware River Turnpike Toll Bridge, which has been part of I-95 since 2018 and connects the New Jersey Turnpike in Burlington County, NJ with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bucks County, PA. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/600-million-delaware-river-bridge/4376183/ ("Analysis and design planning for the new bridge will "continue through 2027." The bridge was closed for six weeks in 2017 when there was an "unexpected fracture in one of the bridge’s support trusses."] |
I believe the bolts were used to upgrade some of the connections later, and the bridge was all riveted at the time of construction. Also, 95 used to take a curious routing from NJ into PA, and was moved to the Turnpike Bridge and ramps upgraded in the mid 2000's.
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