Betsy Ross Bridge | |
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![]() Betsy Ross Bridge crossing the Delaware River in February 2023 | |
Coordinates | 39°59′09″N75°04′00″W / 39.98595°N 75.06676°W |
Carries | 6 lanes of ![]() |
Crosses | Delaware River |
Locale | Philadelphia (Bridesburg), Pennsylvania and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey |
Official name | Betsy Ross Bridge |
Named for | Betsy Ross |
Maintained by | Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey |
ID number | 4500011 |
Characteristics | |
Design | Steel continuous truss bridge |
Total length | 8,485 feet (2,586 meters) |
Width | 105 feet 4 inches (32.11 meters) |
Longest span | 729 feet (222 meters) |
Clearance above | 37.66 feet (11.48 meters) |
Clearance below | 135 feet (41 meters) |
History | |
Construction cost | $103 million [1] |
Opened | April 30, 1976 [2] |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 39,980 (2000) |
Toll | $5.00 (westbound) (E-ZPass) |
Location | |
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The Betsy Ross Bridge is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, during the American Bicentennial Year. It was originally planned to be named as the "Delair Bridge", after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now used by Conrail Shared Assets Operations and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line (both bridges NJ terminus are in the Pennsauken neighborhood of Delair), but was instead later named for Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and reputed creator of the first American flag in 1776. It was the first automotive bridge named for a woman in the United States, [2] and the second U.S. bridge overall named for a woman after Iowa's Boone High Bridge was renamed the Kate Shelley High Bridge in 1912. [3]
Betsy Ross Bridge is located adjacent to the mouth of Frankford Creek. During construction, thousands of headstones from historic Monument Cemetery were used as riprap on the embankments built for the bridge, some of which can be seen along the edge of the Delaware River near the bridge during low tide. [4]
Construction began in 1969, and was completed in 1974. However, the bridge did not open to traffic until April 30, 1976 [2] due to numerous problems with the communities where the bridge's ramps to and from Richmond Street were located. The problems, including traffic and especially heavy trucks, were also related to the highway route's planned extension to the northwest from the Delaware River, across Northeast Philadelphia to connect with the Roosevelt Expressway. The cancellation of this extension, the planned Pennsylvania Route 90, known as the Pulaski Expressway, resulted in the so-called "Evel Knievel" ghost ramps with unfinished bridges and flyover ramps, some of which were later constructed to serve nearby Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia's Bridesburg section. The route serves as a high-level multi-lane with six lanes, separated by a concrete median barrier, bypassing the three-lane Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, which has a drawbridge on the span.
Construction in 1988 connected the bridge to New Jersey Route 90, allowing drivers to use Route 90 to access Route 73, rather than via U.S. Route 130. [5]
In 1997, work to construct new ramps to the Pennsylvania side began. It was completed in 1999. [6]
The bridge has a total length of 8,485 feet (2,586 m), and a main span of 729 feet (222 m). Though originally constructed with eight lanes, the bridge was reduced to six lanes with two shoulders in 2000, a median barrier was also paced on the deck. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority.
When approaching the exits from I-95 in Philadelphia for the bridge, drivers see signs referring to NJ Route 90. Beyond the toll plaza, which is on the New Jersey side, Route 90 continues as an expressway with maximum speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h), and in a few miles ends with a merge onto southbound Route 73. The toll plaza (westbound tolls only) is 12 lanes wide, and since 2000 has been a participating E-ZPass facility.
A $5.00 one-way toll is charged entering Pennsylvania for passenger vehicles (less than 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) gross vehicle weight). An $18 credit was previously given on a per tag basis for DRPA-issued E-ZPass tags that crossed one of the four DRPA bridges 18 times in a calendar month. This discount had been suspended in 2010 but was since reinstated. [7] Trucks, commercial vehicles, mobile homes, and recreational vehicles (weighing at least 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) gross vehicle weight) pay $7 cash per axle. Seniors aged 65 and over can use a ticket program to pay $2.00 per trip (not integrated with E-ZPass).
On July 17, 2024, the DRPA approved an increase in the toll for passenger vehicles from $5.00 to $6.00, which will go into effect on September 1, 2024. [8]
In 2011, the DRPA initiated the process of awarding an engineering contract to plan out the redecking of the bridge, as the concrete deck, its asphalt overlay, and the joints between the concrete have deteriorated after 35 years of service. Upon approval of the contract by the DRPA Board, the study is expected to take 30 months. No cost estimates or time frame for the actual redecking project have been announced. [9]
With related improvements to Interstate 95 through Northeastern Philadelphia county, [10] the Betsy Ross Bridge Interchange Project (Exit 26) was initiated in March 2015 [11] to replace the decking on the ramps on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge and complete the access ramps to Aramingo Avenue. [12]
The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The 117.2-mile (188.6 km) mainline's southern terminus is at the Delaware Memorial Bridge on I-295 in Pennsville. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with I-80 and US 46 in Ridgefield Park. Construction of the mainline, from concept to completion, took a total of 22 months between 1950 and 1951. It was opened to traffic on November 5, 1951, between its southern terminus and exit 10.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road that is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 360 miles (580 km) across the state, connecting Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania with Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania.
Route 90 is a 3.22-mile-long (5.18 km) freeway in New Jersey in the United States (U.S.). The western terminus is at the Betsy Ross Bridge over the Delaware River in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, where the road continues into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as an unnumbered road that provides access to Interstate 95 (I-95). The eastern terminus is an interchange with Route 73 in Cinnaminson Township, Burlington County. It is a four- to six-lane highway its entire length, interchanging with U.S. Route 130 and County Route 644.
The Atlantic City Expressway, officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated A.C. Expressway, ACE, or ACX, and known locally as the Expressway, is a 44.1-mile (70.97 km) controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It serves as an extension of the freeway part of Route 42 from Turnersville southeast to Atlantic City. The Atlantic City Expressway is signed as east-west, though the mileage and exits decrease as if one is travelling north-south. It connects Philadelphia and the surrounding Philadelphia metro area with Atlantic City and other Jersey Shore resorts, and also serves other South Jersey communities, including Hammonton and Mays Landing. The expressway intersects many major roads, including Route 73 in Winslow Township, Route 54 in Hammonton, Route 50 in Hamilton Township, the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township, US 9 in Pleasantville, and the Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector near the eastern terminus in Atlantic City.
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.
The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the state governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The authority is principally charged to maintain and develop transportation links between the two states with four bridges and a mass transit rail line across the Delaware River. Though the DRPA has "port" in its name, it does not own or operate any ports.
The Tacony–Palmyra Bridge is a combination steel tied-arch and double-leaf bascule bridge across the Delaware River that connects New Jersey Route 73 in Palmyra, New Jersey with Pennsylvania Route 73 in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. The bridge, designed by Polish-born architect Ralph Modjeski, has a total length of 3,659 feet (1,115 m) and spans 2,324 feet (708 m). After one and a half years of construction, it opened on August 14, 1929, replacing ferry service that had operated between Tacony and Palmyra since May 6, 1922.
The Burlington County Bridge Commission is a public agency responsible for the operation and maintenance of several bridges in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, across the Delaware River. It now manages eight bridges, including the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, and the Riverside-Delanco Bridge. Minor bridges operated by the Commission are the Pennsauken Creek Bridge, Pompeston Creek Bridge, Route 73 Overpass, Swede Run Bridge and the Twin Pipe Culvert, all along County Route 543.
The Commodore Barry Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the Delaware River from Chester, Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, New Jersey, in Logan Township. It is named after John Barry, an American Revolutionary War hero and Philadelphia resident.
Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area, and the tolled, 110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley, the Pocono Mountains, and the Wyoming Valley to the north.
The Schuylkill Expressway, locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and Philadelphia. It is the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, southeast to the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Maintenance and planning for most of the highway are administered through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6, with the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) maintaining the approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge.
The Delair Bridge is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy Ross Bridge. The two-track bridge is part of Conrail Shared Assets Operations and is jointly used by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation freight trains, as well as by the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line service.
The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge is a four-lane, steel through arch bridge crossing the Delaware River between Burlington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As a part of Interstate 95 (I-95), it is a major highway link between Philadelphia and New York City. The bridge also connects the Pennsylvania Turnpike's east-west mainline with the main trunk of the New Jersey Turnpike, via the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension. Tolls are collected only in the west/southbound direction via electronic toll collection.
The Interstate 78 Toll Bridge carries Interstate 78 across the Delaware River between Williams Township, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey in the United States. The bridge opened on November 21, 1989, and is operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC). As of 2008, the bridge carried an average of 56,100 vehicles daily.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In the state of Pennsylvania, it runs 51.00 miles (82.08 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County, closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.
The New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge carries U.S. Route 202 (US 202) over the Delaware River, connecting Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, with Solebury Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The bridge, which opened in 1971, was built and is currently operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. The commission is also responsible for maintenance and operation of the interchanges with Route 29 in New Jersey and Pennsylvania Route 32 (PA 32) on the Pennsylvania side.
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority, it is one of four primary vehicular bridges between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, along with the Betsy Ross, Walt Whitman, and Tacony-Palmyra bridges. It carries Interstate 676/U.S. Route 30, pedestrians/cyclists, and the PATCO Speedline.
The Walt Whitman Bridge is a single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia in the west to Gloucester City in Camden County, New Jersey in the east. The bridge is named after American poet and essayist Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life.
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