It may be several weeks or even month before the Delaware River Turnpike Connector Bridge reopens.

Late last Friday afternoon, inspectors found a 14-inch section of steel beneath the deck of the span had fractured, and the bridge was immediately closed down as a precaution.

A warning about the span, which is jointly operated by the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes, has been posted on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority:

“Expect extreme congestion and delays at all Delaware River crossings between Burlington and Mercer Counties in New Jersey and Bucks County in Pennsylvania because of the continued emergency closure of the bridge connecting the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes. The bridge connecting the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes will be closed indefinitely while engineers conduct studies to determine how to best repair the structure for the long term.”

Tom Feeney, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, said at this point no one really knows how long repairs will take.

“We’re in the process of analyzing and monitoring the bridge and looking to see if there’s damage in other places of it, so we advise people strongly that they should think about mass transit or telecommuting or staggering their work hours or carpooling,” he said.

While those options may be available to some, transportation officials expect most commuters will cross the Delaware by using one of several other bridges.

Joe Donnelly, spokesman for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, said the two spans that are expected to be affected most directly in terms of increased traffic volume will be the Trenton Morrisville Route 1 tollbBridge and the Scudder Falls I 95 Bridge.

He pointed out both have two lanes of traffic in each direction and they travel at highway speeds, but they’re already very heavily used, with backups both in the morning and the evening during rush hour.

So what kind of delays are expected?

According to Donnelly, it’s difficult to really know, but on Monday “they were talking about 15- minute to 20-delays, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more for some people.”

He said the smaller spans controlled by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, including the Lower Trenton Bridge, the Calhoun Street Bridge and the Washington Crossing Bridge are not expected to draw a lot of extra traffic because they are slower-speed bridges, and they’re weight restricted, which means they cannot handle heavy trucks.

“We have people posted at those bridges to specifically turn around or cite any trucks that attempt to go over them,” he said.

Donnelly also said plans to construct a new Scudder Falls Bridge should not have any impact on the current problem that’s been created by the closure of the Connector Bridge.

“Right now the plan is for the Scudder Falls Bridge to remain in service while the replacement bridge is built,” he said.

He noted at some point down the road many months or years from now it is possible there could be one lane closed during non-peak hours — but said that won't happen any time soon.

New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Schapiro said as commuters look for alternate routes to get across the Delaware, DOT officials do expect a domino effect of congestion could spill back onto the Turnpike as well as Routes 95, 195 and 295, but right now it’s impossible to know how significant a problem this might be.

He said if motorists plan on using the Route 1 Bridge to enter Pennsylvania, they should avoid trying to get to the Bridge by travelling from I 195 to 29 and then getting onto the span, because significant congestion is anticipated.

He recommended using I 295 to get onto Route 1 heading to the Bridge instead.

Feeney said if you’re traveling between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and your trip takes you through North Jersey, you’re advised to use exit 14 of the Turnpike to get to Route 78 west heading to Pennsylvania, and then take a Pennsylvania highway heading south to get to where you’re going.

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com.

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