The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission advertised and posted the Notice to Contractors for the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project's construction contract on September 13, 2016. Procurements are not handled through this website. The Notice for Contractors may be accessed on the Notice to Contractors page in the Doing Business section of the Commission's web site -- www.drjtbc.org. The direct address to the posting is https://www.drjtbc.org/default.aspx?pageid=967. All additional procurement and contact information is in that document.
Welcome
Construction Contract for Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project Posted for Bids
Thank you for visiting the website for the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project. The project team invites you to look through the website, learn more about the project, browse materials developed to support the environmental documentation process, or ask questions about the project.
The Scudder Falls Bridge spans the Delaware River between Ewing, N.J. and Lower Makefield, PA. The bridge, its adjoining interchanges and immediate approach roadways are a heavily used commuter route that encounters peak-period traffic congestion and travel delays on a daily basis. The existing bridge was constructed in 1959 and opened in 1961, becoming an important regional commuter connection between Bucks County, PA. and Mercer County, N.J. The bridge carried a daily average of more than 59,000 vehicles in 2015 – far more than it was designed to handle.
The current dysfunctional bridge is a 1,740-foot-long, 10-span structure consisting of two continuous steel-plate girders with alternating cantilever suspended spans and a heavily worn concrete deck. The bridge is safe for current use, though it is nearing the end of its useful life. The bridge is of similar design to the infamous Mianus River Bridge that collapsed in Connecticut in 1983. Under the National Bridge Inventory list, the existing bridge is classified as “functionally obsolete” due to concerns with capacity, safety deficiencies, shoulders, and poor approach roadway geometry. The bridge’s lack of shoulders cause lane closures when vehicles are stranded or when routine maintenance operations are conducted. Current interchange geometry creates difficult and unsafe traffic movements for commuter traffic.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is advancing the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project to address safety deficiencies and current and foreseeable future traffic congestion at the bridge, its nearby interchanges, and its approach roadways in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The project is expected to move into full construction in early 2017. However, work on some advance construction measures – such as noise-reduction walls – is underway now in 2016.
Toll Schedule Approved for New Bridge
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission on September 26, 2016 approved the toll schedule to be charged at the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge when the first span of the new bridge opens as a tolled crossing in 2019. Tolls will be collected in the southbound direction only via an all-electronic toll (AET) system consisting of E-ZPass transponder readers and high-resolution cameras designed to capture the license plate images of vehicles without E-ZPass. The base E-ZPass passenger vehicle toll is $1.25. The passenger vehicle Toll-by-Plate toll is $2.60. An E-ZPass commuter discou
Website Background
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission first established a specific website for the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project in September 2003. The original purpose was to provide the public with information about the project’s environmental documentation process. The website subsequently underwent periodic revision and updating as the Commission compiled a voluminous Environmental Assessment (EA) and a subsequent EA Addendum.
