STOCKTON BOROUGH, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has unveiled a commemorative logo marking the start of a yearlong countdown to the 100th anniversary of the Centre Bridge-Stockton Toll-Supported Bridge.
The two-lane bridge, which connects Stockton, New Jersey, and the Centre Bridge section of Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, opened to traffic as a free crossing on July 16, 1927. The bridge will celebrate its centennial on July 16, 2027.
According to the commission, the bridge’s opening was a modest event. The chief engineer overseeing construction delivered brief remarks before officials from the commission’s predecessor agency drove vehicles across the bridge for the first time. Stockton residents also welcomed visitors from Centre Bridge during the opening.
The commission said it has not yet decided whether additional events or commemorations will accompany the bridge’s centennial beyond the new logo. During previous bridge centennial celebrations, the agency has installed commemorative banners and supported events organized by local communities.
No rehabilitation project is scheduled for the bridge in 2027, although the commission said planning could begin next year for a rehabilitation project to be carried out in 2028. The bridge was last rehabilitated in 2007.
The Centre Bridge-Stockton Bridge is the commission’s eighth-oldest structure and consists of six steel Warren truss spans measuring 824 feet, 10 inches between its abutments. It was designed by Edwin W. Denzler Jr., a World War I veteran and University of Pennsylvania engineering graduate who later served as the commission’s chief engineer.
The bridge was constructed in 1926 and 1927 by the American Bridge Company at a cost of $280,000, funded equally by New Jersey and Pennsylvania through the commission’s predecessor agency.
According to the commission, the current steel bridge was built atop the stone piers and abutments of an earlier wooden covered bridge that was destroyed by a lightning-sparked fire on July 22, 1923.
Today, the bridge carries an average of 5,100 vehicles daily. It has a 25 mph speed limit and a five-ton weight restriction, with oversized vehicles controlled by a traffic signal installed on the Pennsylvania approach in 2020.
The commission said the crossing’s history dates back more than 200 years. The first bridge at the site opened in 1812 as a privately owned toll bridge after legislative efforts dating to 1809. A succession of wooden bridges served the location until the 1923 fire destroyed the last covered bridge, paving the way for construction of the current steel structure.
