The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission says the next major facet of project construction prior to the opening of the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge’s nearly completed downstream span will involve uninterrupted closures of four I-295 entry/exit ramps – three in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey – for five weeks.
Weather permitting, four interchange ramps that feed off of or onto I-295 in the New Jersey-bound direction will shut down for a five-week period beginning in the early morning hours on Monday, July 12. Posted detours will be put into effect to steer affected motorists onto alternative routes for entering or exiting I-295 EB in Pennsylvania or accessing Route 29 on the bridge’s New Jersey side.
At the I-295/Taylorsville Road interchange (New Hope-Yardley, Exit 10) in Pennsylvania, three ramps will close:
- The I-295 EB off-ramp to Taylorsville Road.
- The Taylorsville Road southbound entry ramp to I-295 EB/SB immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge.
- The Taylorsville Road northbound entry ramp to I-295 EB/SB immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge.
Affected motorists from these ramp closures will be detoured to the Yardley-Newtown/Route 332 interchange (Exit 8) either along I-295 WB from the Taylorsville Road interchange or via Taylorsville Road and Route 332/West Afton Avenue/Yardley-Newtown Road.
At the I-295/Route 29 interchange (Exit 76) in New Jersey, one ramp will close:
- The off-ramp to Route 29 immediately after crossing the Scudder Falls (I-295) Bridge from Pennsylvania into New Jersey.
Affected motorists from this ramp closure will be directed to the Scotch Road interchange (Exit ramp 73-A) where they can use the loop ramps to cross over I-295 and make a U-turn onto I-295 NB so they can access the Route 29 exit ramp immediately before the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge (last exit in New Jersey).
The four ramp closures and detours will enable construction crews to reconstruct the ramps prior to being put into a final configuration with a new permanent alignment of I-295 EB in Pennsylvania and I-295 SB in New Jersey. When completed, the newly aligned ramps will feed traffic to and from the second Scudder Falls Bridge span that is rapidly nearing completion on the downstream side of the first span that opened to traffic in July 2019.
Work during the five-week closure will include – but not be limited to – excavation, installation of drainage facilities and guide rails, curbing, paving and striping.
Commuters who access I-295 EB in Bucks County, PA to travel across the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge to job locations in neighboring Mercer County, NJ are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time to reach their destinations while the ramp closures are in effect.
Pennsylvania-bound I-295 motorists should not be appreciably impacted by the new travel changes; all interchange ramps along that direction of I-295 remain open.
The work on the various interchange ramps is weather sensitive and the schedule could be changed if necessary in the weeks ahead.
