The Betsy Ross Bridge is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, during the American Bicentennial Year. It was originally planned to be named as the " Delair Bridge", after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

, which is now used by Conrail Shared Assets Operations and

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...

's Atlantic City Line (both bridges NJ terminus are in the Pennsauken neighborhood of Delair), but was instead later named for Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and reputed creator of the first American flag in 1776. It was the first automotive bridge named for a woman in the United States, and the second U.S. bridge overall named for a woman after

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

's Boone High Bridge was renamed the Kate Shelley High Bridge in 1912. Betsy Ross Bridge is located adjacent to the mouth of Frankford Creek. During construction, thousands of headstones from historic Monument Cemetery were used as riprap on the embankments built for the bridge, some of which can be seen along the edge of the Delaware River near the bridge during low tide.

History

Betsy Ross Bridge from Bridesburg PA to Pennsauken Township NJ

Construction began in 1969, and was completed in 1974. However, the bridge did not open to traffic until April 30, 1976 due to numerous problems with the communities where the bridge's ramps to and from Richmond Street were located. The problems, including traffic and especially heavy trucks, were also related to the highway route's planned extension to the northwest from the

, across

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Great Northeast, and known colloquially as simply "the Northeast", is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of betw ...

to connect with the Roosevelt Expressway. The cancellation of this extension, the planned Pennsylvania Route 90, known as the Pulaski Expressway, resulted in the so-called "

Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...

" ghost ramps with unfinished bridges and flyover ramps, some of which were later constructed to serve nearby Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia's Bridesburg section. The route serves as a high-level multi-lane with six lanes, separated by a concrete median barrier, bypassing the three-lane Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, which has a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

on the span. Construction in 1988 connected the bridge to New Jersey Route 90, allowing drivers to use Route 90 to access Route 73, rather than via

U.S. Route 130 U.S. Route 130 (US 130) is a United States Numbered Highway System, U.S. Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey, U.S. Route 30, located completely within the state of New Jersey. It is signed with north and south cardinal di ...

. In 1997, work to construct new ramps to the Pennsylvania side began. It was completed in 1999. The bridge has a total length of , and a main span of . Though originally constructed with eight lanes, the bridge was reduced to six lanes with two

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

s in 2000, a median barrier was also placed on the deck. The bridge is owned and operated by the

Delaware River Port Authority The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the state governments ...

. When approaching the exits from

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

in Philadelphia for the bridge, drivers see signs referring to NJ Route 90. Beyond the toll plaza, which is on the New Jersey side, Route 90 continues as an expressway with maximum speed limit of , and in a few miles ends with a merge onto southbound Route 73. The toll plaza (westbound tolls only) is 12 lanes wide, and since 2000 has been a participating E-ZPass facility.

Tolls

A $6.00 one-way toll is charged entering Pennsylvania for passenger vehicles ( or less gross vehicle weight). An $18 credit is given on a per tag basis for New Jersey-issued E-ZPass tags that crossed one of the four DRPA bridges 18 times in a calendar month. This discount had been suspended in 2010 but was since reinstated. Trucks, commercial vehicles, mobile homes, and recreational vehicles (weighing at least gross vehicle weight) pay $9 cash per axle. Seniors aged 65 and over can use a discount program to pay $3.00 per trip with New Jersey E-ZPass. On July 17, 2024, the DRPA approved an increase in the toll for passenger vehicles from $5.00 to $6.00, which went into effect on September 1, 2024.

Plans

In 2011, the DRPA initiated the process of awarding an engineering contract to plan out the redecking of the bridge, as the concrete deck, its asphalt overlay, and the joints between the concrete have deteriorated after 35 years of service. Upon approval of the contract by the DRPA Board, the study is expected to take 30 months. No cost estimates or time frame for the actual redecking project have been announced. With related improvements to

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

through Northeastern Philadelphia county, the Betsy Ross Bridge Interchange Project (Exit 26) was initiated in March 2015 to replace the decking on the ramps on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge and complete the access ramps to Aramingo Avenue.

Gallery

File:Betsy Ross Bridge eastbound.jpg, Eastbound across the Betsy Ross Bridge, from

to Pennsauken, New Jersey across the

File:Betsy Ross Bridge, from Delair Bridge, July 2024.jpg, The Betsy Ross Bridge as seen from the Delair Bridge, July 2024 File:NorthPhiladelphiaAerial-BetsyRossBridge-Aug2013 (26252086568).jpg, An aerial view of the Betsy Ross Bridge and Delair Bridge

References

External links

"Betsy Ross Bridge"
at