New Hope-Lambertville Bridge will be partially closed through summer for repairs

A view of the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge.

Vehicle traffic from New Hope to Lambertville over the “free bridge” between the two communities’ downtowns will be detoured for eight months when rehabilitation work begins on the span later this month.

Westbound vehicle traffic will continue on the bridge over the Delaware River, but traffic going from Pennsylvania to New Jersey will be detoured north to the Route 202 bridge.

The Route 202 bridge has a toll for westbound traffic but is free for eastbound drivers.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission wanted the free bridge work to be scheduled in stages to prevent Pennsylvania-bound commuters from being forced to use the Route 202 bridge and having to pay a toll.

The New Jersey-bound detour is expected to start on or about Jan. 29 and continue through September.

Pedestrian traffic on the free bridge will continue.

However, in the summer when work on replacing the pedestrian walkway begins, foot traffic will be moved to a 6-foot-wide temporary walkway to be installed by the project contractor atop the bridge’s steel-grate roadway.

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The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is planning to provide free temporary shuttle service 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily during this construction stage. The shuttle route and pickup/drop-off locations will be announced before this stage of the project.

The bridge, constructed in 1904, was last rehabilitated in 2004.

Inspections show it to be in “fair condition” with a wide range of issues ranging from the condition of the paint and lighting system to security camera replacement and infrastructure repairs.

The contractor is Anselmi & DeCicco, Inc. of Maplewood.

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Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New Hope-Lambertville Bridge will be partially closed through summer for repairs