Tacony–Palmyra Bridge

Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
Bridge as seen from the New Jersey shoreline
Coordinates
Carries	3 lanes of PA 73 and Route 73, and 2 sidewalks
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	Philadelphia (Tacony), Pennsylvania and Palmyra, New Jersey
Official name	Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
Maintained by	Burlington County Bridge Commission
ID number	3000001 (NJ), 677301999100150 (PA)
Characteristics
Design	Steel Arch bridge with bascule opening
Total length	3,569 feet (1115.3 meters)
Width	38 feet (11.6 meters)
Clearance above	14.5 feet (4.42 meters)
Clearance below	Arch = 64 feet (19.5 meters) Bascule = 55 feet (11.8 meters)
History
Opened	August 14, 1929 (August 14, 1929)
Statistics
Daily traffic	50,000 (1999)
Toll	$4.00 (westbound, cash), $3.00 (E-ZPass)

File:Driving across the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, 2011.jpg

View from the roadway of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, across the upper Delaware River from Palmyra, New Jersey to Tacony section of Philadelphia with drawbridge signs

The Tacony–Palmyra Bridge is a combination steel arch, double-leaf bascule bridge across the Delaware River, connecting New Jersey Route 73 in Palmyra, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Route 73 in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. Paralleling the "Betsy Ross Bridge" also across the upper Delaware River, the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge has a total length of 3,659 feet (1,115 m) and spans 2,324 feet (708 m). It was designed by Polish-born architect, Ralph Modjeski, (1861-1940). After one and a half years of construction, it opened in 1929 to replace the local river ferry service. Though it opened originally as a four-lane bridge, the lanes were reduced in a 1996–97 1½-year bridge deck-replacement/renovation project to contain now three wider lanes (two toll lanes northwestward into the City of Philadelphia, and one free lane southeastward into the State of New Jersey). The bascule draw span is located immediately southeast of the main, arched span over the shipping/boating channel to allow passing maritime traffic. It is one of the few drawbridges to not have gates blocking traffic when the span is raised.

File:Tacony-Palmyra Bridge from Palmyra Nature Cove.jpg

The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge from New Jersey

The Bridge is owned and maintained by the Burlington County Bridge Commission of New Jersey. The bridge has a $4 toll as of September 15, 2015, which is discounted to $3 can be paid using the "E-ZPass" system. Despite interruptions due to occasional openings for passing shipping traffic (the upper Delaware River is navigable as far north as Van Sciver Lake near Bristol, Pennsylvania), it serves as a lower-cost alternative to the six-lane, high-span Betsy Ross Bridge, of 1969-1974, further south paralleling the Tacony-Palmyra, which there charges $5 for the westward crossing.

A walkway on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge is open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, plus taking advantage of the river scenery.

On October 10, 2013, the drawbridge became stuck in the open position when a roller under the maintenance walkway seized, causing it to jam and the bridge to stop moving. The Tacony–Palmyra was closed for approximately eleven hours total.

See also

• List of crossings of the Delaware River

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, Burlington County Bridge Commission, New Jersey
• Tacony-Palmyra Bridge at Structurae
• Tacony-Palmyra Bridge at PhillyRoads.com
• Ehrhart, W.D., "Drawbridges on the Delaware", "Virginia Quarterly Review", Autumn 2002.