USDOT Pumps $600 Million into the Delaware/Pennsylvania I-95 Bridge Rebuild
A failed truss sparked it—now $600M in federal funding is driving the rebuild of the bridge which connects Southeast Pennsylvania...
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The U.S. Department of Transportation is now backing a rebuild of the Interstate 95 Delaware River Bridge with a $600 million cash infusion.
The funds will go to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for the PA Turnpike-I-95 Interchange Program Delaware River Bridge Project, which will connect Southeast Pennsylvania to Delaware. The PTC will work in collaboration on rebuilding the current bridge with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Federal Highway Administration.
Key reasons for rebuilding the bridge, which currently see over 60,000 drivers per day, include improving the structure’s safety and long-term performance. The rebuilt bridge will also reduce the total area obstructing river flow during high water events.
Plans for a replacement bridge were born out of necessity in 2017, when one of the original bridge’s support trusses failed and led to a six-week closure. The original Delaware River Bridge was built in 1956 between Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Burlington County, New Jersey, and cannot be rehabilitated.
Currently, both state agencies are studying two replacement alternatives for the bridge, and public meetings to present these plans are scheduled throughout 2026. After those meetings, preliminary engineering is expected to last until late 2027 or early 2028, and the bridge’s design phase is forecast to conclude in 2031.
Rebuilding the Delaware River Bridge will be the third stage of the larger PA Turnpike/Interstate-95 (I-95) Interchange Project, a plan began in 2024 to connect the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 and complete I-95 through the Mid-Atlantic region. The full Interchange Project is expected to be completed in 2036.
