30-minute traffic stoppage possible overnight Dec. 1–2 at New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge for overhead steel monotube installation
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — Traffic on the New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202) Toll Bridge could be stopped in both directions for up to 30 minutes overnight Monday into Tuesday to allow crews to hoist a 30,000-pound steel monotube into place, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced Monday.
The stoppage is expected to occur sometime between midnight late Monday, Dec. 1, and 5 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2. Officials said the bridge experiences very light traffic volumes during those hours.
The extended halt will allow a contractor’s crane crew to lift the 24-inch-diameter, 110-foot-long monotube atop two newly installed pre-cast concrete towers on the Pennsylvania approach. The structure will later be equipped with high-resolution cameras and E-ZPass toll-reading devices as part of the Commission’s ongoing conversion to highway-speed, cashless tolling. Cash collections at the bridge ended in June 2024.
For safety reasons, traffic must be stopped while the massive tube is hoisted across the roadway and mounted onto the support columns along both directions of Route 202.
Motorists traveling overnight are being urged to plan ahead and consider alternate crossings. Passenger vehicles may use the New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge, one mile downstream, which has a 4-ton load posting, or the Centre Bridge-Stockton Toll-Supported Bridge, 2.3 miles upstream, which has a 5-ton limit. Larger or heavier vehicles will need to use the I-78 Toll Bridge about 31 miles to the north or the Scudder Falls (I-295) Toll Bridge 10.4 miles downstream.
Drivers who continue to use the Route 202 bridge should be prepared to stop and expect possible delays.
The work is part of a project transforming the former southbound cash toll plaza into a highway-speed tolling facility using E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATE billing. The project also includes repairs and improvements to the bridge’s Pennsylvania abutment.
The bridge currently operates with a single travel lane in each direction, narrowed widths, and a posted 25 mph speed limit.
The Commission noted that the planned overnight travel restriction may change due to weather, emergencies, or other unforeseen factors.
