Deteriorated Pin Connection Removed from New Hope-Lambertville Bridge

NEW HOPE, PA — Construction workers and engineers on Tuesday night completed a multi-step process to remove a severely deteriorated structural connection that has forced a two-week-long shutdown of the New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced on Wednesday.

The removal of the severely rusted and deformed 4-inch-diameter, 18-inch-long pin on the bridge’s second span is a critical milestone in an unprecedented repair effort aimed at getting the bridge back into limited service by January 27.

As anticipated, the pin removal was an elaborate task. Workers could not remove the corroded connection intact. So, they resorted to sawing, drilling, sledgehammering, and torching to get the misshaped metal piece out from a series of bridge structural supports. The stubborn pin was sawed in half early Tuesday. The downstream portion of the pin was removed around 6 p.m. and the upstream portion was freed around 10:30 p.m.

A worker uses a torch as he works to remove the misshaped piece of metal. (Courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission)

Workers use a drill as they work to remove the pin. (Courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission)

This photo shows the downstream pin removed. (Courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission)

Next Steps

With the pin removed, workers have already moved to the next step in the repair process involving removal and replacement of several steel components that also deteriorated at the pin connection point. Other tasks in the process involve realigning structural components, steel boring, and insertion of a custom-fabricated replacement pin.

The affected bridge section – the second truss span from the Pennsylvania side – will then need to be put back into tension independent of a temporary custom-made stabilization device called a “friction collar” that was installed on the bridge in late November. The unique device was put into tension early last week, allowing for the bridge’s shutdown on Monday for the pin-replacement process.

The removed bridge pin. (Courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission)