Scudder Falls Bridge Closing Walkway For 3 Months

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — The shared use path on the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge will be closed at times over the next three months, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has announced.

The DRJTBC said that Interstate 95 Toll Bridge’s 0.86-mile-long Shared-Use Path will be closed to pedestrians and bicyclists during portions of the next three months,

The first walkway closure period began Monday and runs until 6 a.m. Friday.

Additional walkway closure periods are expected to occur weekly until mid-December, weather permitting. The Commission will issue information in advance of these additional walkway closure periods when their respective schedules are confirmed.

The first two closure periods in early October will enable a Commission contractor to remove and replace the uneven polyester polymer concrete (PPC) overlay on the elevated access ramp that leads to the walkway on the bridge’s Pennsylvania side.

The roughly 1-inch-thick layer of high-density PPC material helps to protect the underlaying concrete surface from weather and erosion. The material is frequently applied to roadway surfaces but rarely used on walkways.

To enable the work to proceed, the walkway facility’s entry points are expected to be barricaded at the Delaware & Raritan Canal’s rail trail on the New Jersey side and the Delaware Canal towpath on the Pennsylvania side.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are urged to plan ahead for the closure periods.

The closest river crossing points for pedestrians are the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge 4.8 miles to the south, and the Washington Crossing Toll-Supported Bridge 2.5 miles to the north in Morrisville.

The walkways at these alternate river crossing points are significantly narrower than the 10-foot-wide Scudder Falls Shared-Use Path. Bicyclists must dismount and walk their bikes across the walkways at these other two bridges.

The upcoming work on the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge Shared-Use Path is part of a broader short-duration project that is expected to be carried out at the bridge over the next couple months.

The contractor also will be sealing the highway bridge’s PPC deck surfaces to further protect them from corrosive elements like salt, moisture, and petroleum distillates.

A series of daytime and overnight lane closures, select nighttime ramp closures, and various traffic shifts are expected to be implemented to carry out the bridge decks’ sealing preparation and application work. Occasional brief travel delays are possible.

The Scudder Falls Toll Bridge Deck Sealing and Shared-Use Path PPC Overlay Improvements are being carried out under the Commission’s job-order contracting program. Two capital program funding actions were approved at the Commission’s September meeting to allow the upcoming work to proceed this fall.

The Scudder Falls Shared-Use Path opened in November 2021. Aside from the 1,587-foot river bridge walkway, the 0.86-mile-long facility includes:

• An access ramp and concrete path extension to the D&R Feeder Canal towpath on the New Jersey side.
• An access ramp to the Delaware Canal towpath on the Pennsylvania side.
• Four scenic overlooks on the bridge walkway and access ramps.
• A pedestrian bridge to facilitate safe crossings of pedestrians and bicyclists over the Delaware Canal.
• The 1799 House – a former stone residence that was adaptively re-used to serve as a trailhead comfort station in close proximity to the Delaware Canal towpath. A ramp provides access to this facility in compliance with the American Disabilities Act.
• Benches and a bicycle rack outside the 1799 House.
• An interpretive display consisting of one granite block and a bearing from the first Scudder Falls Bridge that was constructed in 1959 and removed from service in 2019.
• A 127-space park-n-ride lot – including handicapped-designated spaces -- near the intersection of Taylorsville and Woodside roads in Lower Makefield.
• Permeable asphalt paths connecting the pedestrian canal bridge, the 1799 House and the park-n-ride lot on the Pennsylvania side.

The Commission has committed to operating and maintaining the facility’s various components and nearby Commission-owned wetland areas in perpetuity.