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.

Construction status:

  • Land-based preparations currently underway (late-May 2017)
  • Advance noise walls installation along Pennsylvania I-95 approach completed June 2, 2017 
  • In-water work set to start early July 2017.

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

Estimated Full Project Duration: 4-1/2 years

Learn More

New Scudder Falls Bridge and Interchange Map

I-95 North Ramp Closure Detour

Size and Weight Restrictions Now in Effect for Trucks

Due to reduced turning radii at interchanges, narrowed highway lane configurations and traffic shifts, size and weight restrictions are now in effect for the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge.  Vehicles may not exceed one or more of the following limits:  201,000 pounds, 10 feet in width, or 80 feet in length.

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 August 20

Please anticipate the following travel restrictions in the 4.4-mile-long project area during week of Aug. 20:

Pennsylvania side

  • I-95 north – Intermittent single-lane travel from the Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 49) to the Scudder Falls Bridge 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25.
  • I-95 south – Intermittent single-lane travel from the Scudder Falls Bridge to the Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 49), 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. (next day) Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25. 
  • Woodside Road west of Taylorsville Road – Intermittent alternating single-lane travel controlled by flaggers 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25.
  • River Road/Route 32 – Intermittent alternating single-lane travel controlled by flaggers 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21 to Friday, Aug. 25.

New Jersey side

  • Route 175/River Road – Alternating single-lane travel pattern controlled by flaggers 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25.

Weekends: No work is currently scheduled for the weekends of Aug. 19-20 or Aug. 26-27 with the exception of construction activities for the new bridge on Aug. 19 and Aug. 26. No travel impacts are anticipated due to the  weekend bridge construction activities. 

Construction Update - Week of August 20

  • Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 49) – Install drainage and erosion-control devices for drainage basin within the infield of the northbound I-95 exit ramp.
  • I-95 northbound PA segment – Anchoring of concrete construction barriers.
  • PA I-95 highway median – Removal of top soil and early-stage excavation for areas needing retaining wall.
  • Woodside Road (Lower Makefield, PA) – Construction for roadway widening west of Taylorsville Road.
  • Begin demolition of property between eastern section of Woodside Road and I-95.
  • Pennsylvania side of replacement bridge (vicinity of River and Woodside roads) – Begin work on pier cofferdam, continue bulkhead and temporary trestle causeway construction.
  • New Jersey side of replacement bridge (betwen Route 29 south and river) – Continue temporary bulkhead and trestle causeway construction and installation of cofferdam for land-based bridge pier.
  • I-95/Route 29 interchange (Exit 1) – Mobilize for support of excavation and piling for new bridge's New Jersey abutment; earthwork activities for various temporary ramps at new interchange; install drilled shaft near D&R Canal towpath for pier supporting new I-95 south ramp to Route 29 north and install piles and pad for this ramp's abutment; install piles and pier footing at new ramp from Route 29 north to I-95 north.
  • Route 175/River Road (Ewing, NJ) – Complete utility relocation work in the vicinity of the I-95 approach bridge to the current Scudder Falls Bridge and the nearby onramp to I-95 northbound.