Overnight Detours for Route 29 SB Motorists This Week on NJ Side of Scudder Falls Bridge

Two overnight detours are scheduled to be implemented along Route 29 SB on the New Jersey side of the Scudder Falls Bridge Monday, Sept. 17, through Thursday, Sept. 20.  The detours will be in effect 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will affect two traffic movements: Route 29 SB motorists approaching the I-295 interchange and I-295 NB/WB motorists attempting to access the slip ramp to Route 29 SB at the interchange (Exit 76/last exit in New Jersey).  Both of these movements will be directed to travel southbound on nearby Route 175/River Road when detours are in effect.  Maps of the two detours are posted below.

Detour for NJ Route 29 SB via Route 175/River Road

 

Detour for I-295 NB/WB Slip Ramp to NJ Route 29 SB at Exit 76

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Total Project Area: 4.4 miles along I-95 from Yardley-Newtown Road/Route 332 Interchange (Exit 49) in Pennsylvania to Bear Tavern Road/Route 579 (Exit 2) in New Jersey

Major Project Elements:

  • Replace the current congestion-prone, functionally obsolete Scudder Falls Bridge with a dual-span structure carrying six thru-traffic lanes (three in each direction) and three auxiliary lanes (two northbound, one southbound) for traffic merging onto and off the bridge.
  • Widen to the inside the bridge’s Pennsylvania I-95 approach, increasing the roadway to three lanes in each direction.
  • Reconstruct the entire I-95/Route 29 Interchange (Exit 1) and its associated ramps and structures in Ewing, N.J.
  • Reconfigure the I-95/Taylorville Road Interchange (Exit 51) in Lower Makefield, PA.
  • Erect noise-abatement walls where warranted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (PA noise walls began in 2016)
  • Improve/expand drainage and approach-roadway exit/entry transitions in New Jersey.
  • Construct a pedestrian/bicycle walkway on the new bridge’s upstream side, connecting the recreational canal towpaths in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
  • Install an all-electronic tolling (AET) gantry and related infrastructure for highway-speed toll collection along the new bridge’s southbound lanes through E-ZPass tag readers and high-speed video cameras for license-plate billing.
  • Mitigate environmental impacts from construction to protect shortnose sturgeon, red-bellied turtles, Indiana bats, yellow lampmussels, wetlands, and other natural and cultural resources.

Electronic Tolling Start (southbound only):  Sometime in 2019.

Estimated Full Project Duration: 4-1/2 years

Learn More

Project Progress Photos (click on photo below)

Project Progress Archives

 

 

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Project Videos

Project Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXq9L3Jm7iw

AET Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_8BEokUrw

Travel Advisory - Week of Sept. 16

Motorists approaching the Scudder Falls Bridge along boths directions of I-295 (old I-95) from Pennsylvania and New Jersey are advised that periodic backups and delays are possible as work takes place on the approach bridge that carries the highway across the NJ Route 29  NB bypass roadway, the NJ Delaware & Raritan Canal, and NJ Route 175/River Road in Ewing, NJ.

The full schedule of travel restrictions for the week of Sept. 16 is as follows:

Pennsylvania side

  • I-295 EB from the Rte. 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 8) to the Scudder Falls Bridge – Intermittent single-lane travel configurations 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, Sept. 17, through Friday, Sept. 21; ALSO single-lane pattern 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, AND 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, to 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 23.
  • I-295 WB from the Scudder Falls Bridge to the Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 8) – Intermittent single-lane travel configurations 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. (next day) Monday, Sept. 17, through Friday, Sept. 21
  • Taylorsville Rd. north of I-295 - Intermittent single-lane patterns with possible flagger-controlled travel 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, to Friday, Sept. 21
  • Taylorsville Rd. south of I-295 - Intermittent single-lane patterns with possible flagger-controlled travel 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, to Friday, Sept. 21
  • River Road/Route 32 – Intermittent alternating single-lane travel controlled by flaggers 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, to Friday, Sept. 21
  • Woodside Rd. (west of Taylorsville Rd.) - Right or left lane closures with passage maintained in each direction and/or flaggers 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, to Friday, Sept. 21

New Jersey

  • I-295 NB approaching the Scudder Falls Bridge - Intermittent single-lane travel patterns 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. (next day) Monday Sept. 17, through Thursday, Sept. 20; ALSO single-lane pattern 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, AND 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, to 11 a.m. Sunday Sept. 22.
  • I-295 EB/SB immediately after crossing Scudder Falls Bridge into NJ - Intermittent single-lane travel patterns 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, Sept. 17 through Thursday, Sept. 20; ALSO 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, AND 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, to 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 23
  • Route 29 SB approaching the I-295 interchange - Overnight detour via nearby NJ Rte. 175/River Road 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, Sept. 17, through, Thursday, Sept. 20  (Click here for detour map.)
  • Slip ramp to Route 29 SB from I-295 NB (old I-95 SB) - OVERNIGHT closure with posted detour via nearby NJ Rte. 175/River Road 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, Sept. 17, through Thursday, Sept. 20 (Click here for detour map.)  
  • Rte. 175/River Road - Intermittent alternating single-lane travel may be implemented approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, to Friday, Sept. 21

Weekends: Expect overnight/off-peak single-lane travel patterns to be in effect along both directions of I-295 approaching the Scudder Falls Bridge from Pennsylvania and New Jersey during the weekends of Sept. 22-23 (Specific potential restricted travel periods above.)

NJ Delaware & Raritan (D&R) Canal Towpath: Closures scheduled weekday daytime hours -- approximately 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. -- until Friday, Sept. 28 (A map of the affected area can be viewed here) 

Construction Update - Week of Sept. 16

Major project work activities for the week of Sept. 16 include:

  • PA-I-295 - Old roadway demolition, drainage work, subbase installation, curbing and paving activities; highway lighting work.
  • Taylorsville Rd. interchange area (Exit 10, Old Exit 51), Woodside Road, and bridge over Delaware Canal - Roadway construction/drainage/subbase installation/paving at the intersection of Woodside Road, Taylorsville Road, and interchange area and interchange ramps; begin machnically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, install support of excavation, and drive abutment piles for widened I-295 overpass across the Delaware Canal; install shielding, begin staged demolition and install support of excavation for widened I-295 overpass across Taylorsville Road.
  • Upstream of PA approach to Scudder Falls Bridge (work area between River Rd./Route 32 and Taylorsville Rd.) - Continue wall construction in area of bridge monitor (BM)/all-electronic tolling (AET) facility; construct BM/AET building walls; form, place rebar and pour footing and beam seats for upstream bridge's PA abutment.
  • Pennsylvania side of replacement bridge's upstream span (vicinity of River Rd./Route 32 and the river) – Remove cremaining trestle portions at the first in-water pier (Pier 2); remove remaining trestle sections at the second in-water pier (Pier 3); continue installation of bearings and structural steel girders on new upstream bridge's Pennsylvania side.
  • I-295/Rte. 29 interchange (Exit 76, Old Exit 1) area – Rroadway construction/drainage/sub-base/paving within various interchange ramps and downstream roundabout; strip deck overhang forms and remove shielding at one elevated ramp; construct barrier/moment slabs for wall, place overlay and strip deck forms at an elevated ramp; shoot deck grades, install shielding and deck froms within in upstream replacement bridge's 7th span; complete modular deck joint concrete pours at new upstream span's NJ abutment.
  • NJ I-295 approach - Install shielding beneath main approach bridge over Route 29 and 175 and D&R Canal; remove median barrier on I-295 at main approach bridge; construct various sign-structure foundations; begin foundation construction for retaining wall along I-295 NB; install noise-attenuation walls north of Bear Tavern Road/Route 579, in the vicinity of a new off-ramp from I-295 NB nearing the bridge, and at the new upstream bridge; highway lighting work at various locations.