Delaware Memorial Bridge

Deleware Memorial Bridge
Deleware Memorial Bridge
Coordinates	39°41′18″N 75°31′06″W / 39.688333°N 75.518333°W
Carries	8 lanes of I-295/US 40
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	New Castle, Delaware to Deepwater, New Jersey
Maintained by	Delaware River and Bay Authority
ID number	1737
Characteristics
Design	steel suspension bridge
Total length	3281.2 m (10765 ft) (eastbound); 3290.6 m (10796 ft) (westbound)
Width	18.0 m (59.1 ft) (eastbound); 17.9 m (58.7 ft) (westbound)
Longest span	655.3 m (2150 ft)
Clearance above	5.46 m (17.9 ft)
Clearance below	53.0 m (174 ft)
History
Opened	August 16 1951 (eastbound); September 12 1968 (westbound)
Statistics
Toll	$3.00 (southbound) (EZ Pass)

The Delaware Memorial Bridge, sometimes abbreviated as "DelMemBr" is a set of twin suspension bridges crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Highway 40 between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann, whose other designs include the Walt Whitman Bridge and Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

The bridges also provide connection with the New Jersey Turnpike, and U.S. Highway 130 in Pennsville, New Jersey (at the settlement of Deepwater, New Jersey) on the north side and Interstate 95, Interstate 495, U.S. Highway 13, and Route 9 in New Castle, Delaware.

The bridges are dedicated to the war dead of both New Jersey and Delaware, thus its name. On the Delaware side of the bridge is a War Memorial, visable from the northbound side lanes. The toll facility is operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

History

The First Span

Following the opening of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, residents of Delaware and New Jersey began to advocate a river crossing in the Wilmington area. As pressure mounted, a ferry service was initiated in 1926 near the bridge's current location as an interim measure. Advocates of a Delaware-New Jersey crossing faced strong opposition from Philadelphia port authorities, claiming it would be a menace to navigation. The US Navy was also concerned that the bridge would be vulnerable to attack and could render the Philadelphia Navy Yard useless if destroyed by an enemy.

As vehicluar traffic rapidly increased, the benefits of the bridge became impossible to ignore and construction was authorized by the highway departments of Delaware and New Jersey in 1945. Originally a two lane tunnel was considered, but the costs for a four lane bridge were found to be equivalent, thus the bridge was the choice. The United States Congress approved the project on July 13, 1946, and construction eventually began on February 1, 1949.

The project cost $44 million. It took two years to complete the 440-foot- (134-meter-) high span, which opened to traffic on August 16, 1951. At the time, it was the sixth longest main suspension span in the world. The governors of Delaware and New Jersey dedicated the bridge to their state's war dead of World War II.

The bridge quickly proved a popular travel route as the New Jersey Turnpike connection was completed at the north end. By 1955, nearly 8 million vehicles were crossing the bridge each year— almost double the original projection. By 1960, it was attracting more than 15 million cars per year, increasing even more when it began linking the newly constructed Delaware Turnpike in November, 1963.

The Second Span

Construction of the second span began in mid-1964, 250 feet north of the original span. At a cost of $77 million, the second span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge opened on September 12, 1968, and was dedicated to the those soldiers from Delware and New Jersey killed in the Korean War and Vietnam War. The original span was closed down for fifteen months for refurbishment - the suspenders were replaced, the deck overhauled and the median barrier removed to provide four lanes of traffic in one direction. Finally, on December 29, 1969, all eight lanes of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Twin Span opened to traffic, making it the world's longest twin suspension bridge.

The Delaware River and Bay Authority began a $13 million project in 2003 to resurface the bridge, refurbish the expansion joints, udgrade the electrical system, and replace the elevators in the 4 towers. The work should be complete in 2008.

The bridge had a close call with disater when on July 9, 1969, the oil tanker Regent Liverpool struck the fender system protecting the tower piers. The bridge itself was spared damage, but the fender suffered approximately $1 million in damages.

The original span carries New Jersey-bound traffic, while the newer span carries the Delaware-bound traffic.

Today, more than 80,000 vehicles cross the twin spans on their combined total of 8 lanes daily.

The largest single day of bridge traffic saw 72,249 private and commercial vehicles cross the bridge one-way on November 29, 1998. The largest single weekend for traffic totals saw 194,199 vehicles cross the bridge one-way, July 24-26, 1998[1].

Toll

$3 for passenger vehicles exiting New Jersey into Delaware.
No toll for traffic exiting Delaware into New Jersey.
EZ Pass compatible.
About $270,000 in tolls are collected daily[2].

Delaware Memorial Bridge, approaching northbound from the Delaware side, October 2005.

War Memorial

Since its opening in 1951, annual ceremonies are held at the bridge's War Memorial on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day to honor the sacrifices of American war veterans. This memorial is located in New Castle, Delaware and features a reflecting pool, a statue of a soldier, and a wall containing the names of 15,000 men and women from Delaware and New Jersey killed in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War.

External links

DRBA - Delaware Memorial Bridge
phillyroads.com - Delaware Memorial Bridge (I-295 and US 40)
Delaware State Code Title 17, Chapter 3 Legal framework for Delaware Memorial Bridge
Delaware state Code Title 17, Chapter 18 Legal framework for Delaware River and Bay Authority
Delaware Memorial Bridge Advanced Traffic Management System