The
Commodore Barry Bridge is a
cantilever bridgeA cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
that spans the
Delaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
from
ChesterChester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to
BridgeportBridgeport is an unincorporated area within Logan Township, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08014....
, in
Logan TownshipLogan Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 6,032....
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is named after the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
hero and Philadelphia resident John Barry.
Along with the
Betsy Ross BridgeThe Betsy Ross Bridge is a continuous truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was originally planned as the Delair Bridge, after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad , but was instead named for Betsy Ross, reputed creator...
, the
Benjamin Franklin BridgeThe Benjamin Franklin Bridge , originally named the Delaware River Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey...
and the
Walt Whitman BridgeThe Walt Whitman Bridge is a green-colored single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges...
, the Commodore Barry Bridge is one of the four
toll bridgeA toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
s connecting the metropolitan Philadelphia region with southern New Jersey owned by the
Delaware River Port AuthorityThe Delaware River Port Authority is a bi-state instrumentality created by a Congressionally approved interstate compact between the governments of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey...
(DRPA). Both the DRPA and the
PennDOTThe Pennsylvania Department of Transportation oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Barry Schoch Presently, PennDOT supports over of state roads and highways, about 25,000...
are in the process of building two new exit ramps that will allow motorists to access the Chester Waterfront (via
Pennsylvania Route 291Pennsylvania Route 291 is an east–west route that connects U.S. Route 13 in the Trainer/Marcus Hook area to Interstate 76 in Southwest Philadelphia near the Walt Whitman Bridge and the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Except for a short section between U.S. Route 13 and the...
) from I-95. Additionally, a deck joint replacement project began in May 2008 with expected completion in 7 months.
History
Construction of the bridge began on April 14, 1969, and it opened to traffic on February 1, 1974. It has a total length of 13,912 feet (4,240 m), and a main span of 1,644 feet (501 m), making the bridge the
fourth longest cantilever bridge in the world, and the longest in the United States. The road has a total of five lanes, divided by a
zipper barrierBarrier transfer machines, also known as zipper machines, are heavy vehicles used to transfer Jersey barriers or other concrete lane dividers used to relieve traffic congestion during rush hours....
, in which a machine can configure the number of lanes in each direction, depending upon traffic volume or construction. The bridge is designated as part of
U.S. Route 322U.S. Route 322 is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926...
and has direct connections with
U.S. Route 13U.S. Route 13 is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region,...
and
Interstate 95Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
in Chester and
U.S. Route 130U.S. Route 130 is a north–south U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey. It runs from Interstate 295 and US 40 at Deepwater in Pennsville Township, Salem County, where the road continues east as Route 49, north to US 1 in North Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, where...
in Bridgeport, with a connection to Interstate 295 and the
New Jersey TurnpikeThe New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
within a 5 miles (8 km) radius of the bridge. It replaced the earlier Chester-Bridgeport ferry service which ceased operation on January 31, 1974.
Originally created to be a connection to one of the then-proposed freeways in New Jersey, the Commodore Barry Bridge was to connect
Interstate 95Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
near Chester to, at one point, the
Atlantic City ExpresswayThe Atlantic City Expressway is a , controlled-access toll road in New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority...
near
HammontonHammonton is a town in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 14,791. It is located directly between Philadelphia and the resort town of Atlantic City, along a former route of the Pennsylvania Railroad currently used by New Jersey...
, but those plans were eventually scrapped when it was realized that many people in the
college townA college town or university town is a community which is dominated by its university population...
of
GlassboroGlassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 19,068....
would be affected. There are new talks of possibly upgrading US 322 to a freeway from US 130 to
Interstate 295'sInterstate 295 in New Jersey and Delaware is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, designated as a bypass around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The route begins at a junction with Interstate 95 south of Wilmington, Delaware, and runs to another junction with I-95 north of Trenton, New Jersey...
current Exit 11, or even as far as the
New Jersey TurnpikeThe New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
's Exit 2. There is no mention if this new freeway would be included in the
Interstate Highway SystemThe Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
, though it hasn't been ruled out yet, either.
Tolls
A $5.00 one-way toll is charged entering Pennsylvania for passenger vehicles (less than 7000 lb (3,175.1 kg) gross vehicle weight). A $12 credit will be given on a per tag basis for any DRPA-issued
E-ZPassE-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
tag that crosses one of the four DRPA bridges 18 times in a calendar month. Trucks, Commercial vehicles, mobile homes and recreation vehicles (weighing at least 7000 lb (3,175.1 kg). gross vehicle weight), pay $7 cash per axle. Seniors aged 65 and over can use a ticket program to pay $2.00 per trip (not integrated with E-ZPass).
See also
- List of crossings of the Delaware River
- PPL Park, a soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
for the Philadelphia Union of Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
and the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
, is located at the bridge's southwesterly corner.
- Wade Dump
Wade Dump is a once-polluted Superfund cleanup site in Chester, Pennsylvania. Located on the western bank of the Delaware River under the Commodore Barry Bridge, the three-acre site once served as a rubber recycling facility and an illegal industrial waste storage and disposal facility.The site was...
, a former Superfund site located under the bridge
External links