Motorists may encounter eastbound traffic shifts and brief delays in coming weeks as construction activities get fully underway on the replacement of the lighting elements of the Lower Trenton Toll-Supported Bridge’s iconic “Trenton Makes The World Takes” sign, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has announced.
Only vehicles traveling from Pennsylvania to New Jersey will be affected by the shifted traffic pattern that will be implemented during daytime hours (7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) at the bridge. The pattern will provide a safe construction zone where crews can go about the task of modernizing the bridge sign’s lighting and electrical-supply components.
The project involves the removal of the sign’s current unreliable and energy-inefficient red neon tubes and corresponding electrical system. These components were installed in 2005 and are nearing the end of their useful life. The sign’s 25 existing letter housings – each 9 feet, 6 inches high – will remain in place, but will be cleaned and re-painted. A new system of high-efficiency LED strip lighting will then be installed into the refurbished letter housings.
The new lighting system is expected to be cheaper to operate while having a longer service life and being more reliable in all of kinds of weather conditions.
The bridge’s sign will remain dark until the lighting system replacement work reaches completion in late October.
More information on the project is available at www.drjtbc.org/projects/trenton-makes.
