Calhoun Street Bridge Pier Repairs To Last 2 Months

MORRISVILLE, PA —Masonry repair work is expected to begin sometime this week on the stone piers that support the 140-year-old Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge between the borough and Trenton, N.J.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) said the bridge will be the second of four Commission river crossings to undergo masonry repairs after inspections found instances of failing mortar and loose stones in their respective 19th-century in-river piers earlier this year.

The upcoming repairs at the Calhoun Street Bridge will take place on the Delaware River and will not impact motorists or pedestrians using the bridge.

The outside contractor that will perform the repairs is currently wrapping up its work on the Lumberville-Raven Rock Toll-Supported Pedestrian Bridge between Solebury and Delaware Township, N.J. That bridge’s piers were determined to be in the most need of repairs.

Work at that location began in late July.

The Calhoun Street Bridge pier repairs are expected to be performed over the next six-to-eight weeks. When completed, the repair crew will shift to the Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge and then the Riverton-Belvidere Toll-Supported Bridge.

Except for a single reinforced-concrete pier at Washington Crossing, the piers at all four bridges date back to the mid-19th century.

Washington Crossing’s date to 1833-34, Riverton-Belvidere’s to 1835-36, Lumberville-Raven Rock’s to 1853-55, and Calhoun Street’s to 1859-60. The piers are rubble-filled with stone-filled timber-crib foundations.

The need to repair the bridge piers’ stonework is the result of biennial inspections required by federal law.

About the Commission

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission was formed statutorily by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey in 1934 and Congress ratified the arrangement under the Compact Clause of U.S. Constitution in August 1935.

The agency operates eight toll bridges and 12 toll-supported bridges, two of which are pedestrian-only spans. The Commission is a self-supporting public-service agency that receives neither federal nor state tax dollars to finance its projects or operations.

Funding for the operations, maintenance, and upkeep of its bridges and related transportation facilities is solely derived from revenues collected at its toll bridges.

The Commission's jurisdiction extends along the Delaware River from the Philadelphia-Bucks County line north to the New Jersey/New York border. More than 131.5 million cars and trucks crossed Commission bridges in 2023. For more information, please go to: www.drjtbc.org.