DRJTBC awards design contract for improvements at I-80 Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has awarded a design contract for a series of roadway, maintenance and facility improvements at the Interstate 80 Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge, with construction expected in 2027 and 2028.
The commission awarded the professional services contract to French & Parrello Associates, P.A., of Wall Township for an amount not to exceed $2,048,386.79 during its June 28 meeting in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
The design work will support two construction contracts expected to be bid in early and mid-2027.
The first phase will focus on roadway improvements near the toll bridge, including spall repairs, new parapets and resurfacing of the two-lane Oak Street bridge that carries traffic over Interstate 80 in the Borough of Delaware Water Gap. The project also includes repairs, cleaning and sealing of the toll bridge’s roadway deck and replacement of the bridge’s highway lighting electrical supply system.
The Oak Street overpass is owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, but the commission said it will improve the structure to better serve a 3.69-acre property it purchased in 2023 to support maintenance and winter storm response operations.
The second phase will focus on expanding the commission’s maintenance facilities based on recommendations in the recently completed Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge Facility Concept Study.
Planned improvements include a new salt-storage building, magnesium chloride tanks and a brine-mixing station, an approximately 8,400-square-foot vehicle and equipment storage building, a covered vehicle fueling area with a fuel management system, electronic security systems, a bridge monitor office and upgrades to site infrastructure, including heating, paging, lightning protection and waste removal systems.
The contract also includes designing new fuel dispensing and fuel management systems for commission vehicles at the Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), Portland-Columbia (Routes 46, 611 and 94) and Milford-Montague (Route 206) toll bridges.
The Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge opened to traffic on Dec. 16, 1953, originally carrying U.S. Route 611 before becoming part of Interstate 80 in 1960. Cash toll collections ended at the bridge in January 2025, with E-ZPass and Toll By Plate now serving as the only payment options.
According to the commission, the bridge carried an average of 49,800 vehicles per day in 2025, making it the agency’s third-busiest vehicular crossing and its longest bridge spanning the Delaware River. It also serves as a key freight corridor and gateway between northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
