• Greater Philadelphia
  
• Southern New Jersey
  

This 2014 photo shows the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322) from the Bristol Waterfront near Talen Energy Stadium. (Photo by Dan Murphy.)

Type of bridge:
Construction started:
Opened to traffic:
Length of main span:
Length of each side span:
Length of main and side spans:
Total length of bridge and approaches:
Width of bridge:
Width of roadway:
Number of traffic lanes:
Height of towers above mean high water:
Clearance at center above mean high water:
Structural steel used in bridge and approaches:
Foundation type:
Cost of original structure:

Cantilever
April 14, 1969
February 1, 1974
1,644 feet (501.1 meters)
822 feet (250.5 meters)
3,288 feet (1,002.2 meters)
13,912 feet (4,240.4 meters)
77 feet (23.5 meters)
60 feet (18.3 meters)
5 lanes
418 feet (127.4 meters)
192 feet (58.5 meters)
49,000 tons (44,452 metric tons)
Caisson
$115,000,000

Passenger car cash toll (westbound only):
Passenger car EZ-Pass toll (westbound only):

$5.00
$5.00
(Commuter discounts available for New Jersey motorists)

• Toll schedule for all vehicles
  

FROM FERRY TO BRIDGE: Plans for a bridge across the Delaware River between southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey date back to at least the late 1700s, when continuous ferry service began between the industrial port city of Chester and the sleepy waterfront town of Bridgeport. In 1936, the ferry became part of the national highway system when the US 322 designation was carried from Chester across the ferry into New Jersey.

The postwar era brought new demands to the highway system of southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. In 1951, the first Delaware Memorial Bridge opened to traffic between Pennsville, New Jersey and New Castle, Delaware. By the late 1950s, there remained a 30-mile gap between the Delaware River crossings in Philadelphia and the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

After two years of study, the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) announced plans for two new fixed crossings of the Delaware River in 1963. The more southerly of the two crossings, the proposed Chester-Bridgeport Bridge, was to offer better distribution of cross-Delaware traffic and provide better access to southern New Jersey. On the New Jersey side, the bridge was to be included in an expanded expressway network, helping to spur development in Gloucester County. On the Pennsylvania side, the bridge was to aid in the redevelopment of Chester, a city that had fallen on hard times in the postwar era.

Construction of the Chester-Bridgeport Bridge required a change in the charter of the DRPA to expand its jurisdiction into Delaware County. President Lyndon Johnson signed this change into law in 1964. Two years later, both states approved final construction plans for the bridge.  In 1970, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey submitted the bridge and its immediate approach roadways for inclusion into the Interstate highway system to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). However, the FHWA denied the request.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION: Construction of the cantilever span, now renamed the Commodore Barry Bridge (after the Revolutionary War hero and "father of the American Navy"), began early in 1969. Designed by the engineering firm E. Lionel Pavlo, Inc., the bridge featured the third-longest main cantilever span in the world at a length of 1,644 feet. Since cable-stayed bridge designs have supplanted cantilever designs for bridges of this length, it appears that the Commodore Barry Bridge will hold onto this title.

Including approaches, the bridge measures approximately 2.6 miles long. To allow ships from the port of Philadelphia-Camden to pass underneath, the bridge was constructed with a mid-span clearance of 192 feet. The bridge features a five-lane roadway without median separation, allowing for flexibility in opening lanes during peak periods.

The Commodore Barry Bridge was completed on February 1, 1974 at a cost of $115 million and two lives. The opening of the new span brought to an end more than two centuries of continuous ferry service. (Ironically, the three ferries that had served the Chester-Bridgeport route also served the Brooklyn-Staten Island route, and were earlier displaced by the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.) However, when the bridge opened, it lacked a direct connection to the Delaware Expressway (I-95) in Chester.

THE LAST FERRY AND THE FIRST DAY OF THE BRIDGE: The left photo shows the final run of the Chester-Bridgeport Ferry on February 1, 1974. The right photo shows the completed bridge from that day, just before it was opened to traffic. Both photos are shown looking west toward Chester. (Photos by Dr. Stan Smith, provided by Dave Smith.)

DEFICITS, VIBRATIONS, AND CRACKS PLAGUE NEW BRIDGE: Soon after the Commodore Barry Bridge opened, John Bunting, the vice chairman of the DRPA, raised doubts about the fiscal viability of the new span. During its first month of operation, only 131,000 vehicles crossed the bridge, about half the traffic volume forecast. Bunting voiced the following concerns in an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

I was always against building the bridge down there. I thought it would be a money-loser all along. From a purely economic viewpoint, it will take a long time, if ever, for the bridge to cover its cost.

By mid-1974, another concern - this time structural - endangered the viability of the Commodore Barry Bridge. During that summer, engineers detected vibrations along the main cantilever span. Some of the vibrations were serious enough to twist the upright girders, forming cracks in some of them. Although the engineers did not believe that the vibrations threatened the overall integrity of the superstructure, they recommended that permanent measures be taken.

The DRPA undertook the following corrective measures:

• splicing and welding any deficiencies in the vertical girders
  

This 2014 photo shows the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322) looking east toward the main span and New Jersey. (Photo by Dan Murphy.)

This 2014 photo shows the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322) looking west at mid-span toward Pennsylvania. (Photo by Dan Murphy.)

IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BRIDGE: In 1992, one-way toll collection began on the westbound lanes, leaving the eastbound direction toll-free. On December 18, 1999, the Commodore Barry Bridge joined the EZ-Pass regional toll collection network. The DRPA has long-range plans to add two westbound EZ-Pass lanes to enable motorists to pass through the toll plaza at 45 MPH, though the agency has yet to begin work on this project.

To improve safety, the DRPA installed a movable concrete "zipper" barrier on the bridge roadway in the fall of 2000. The barrier, which is hinged every three feet, enables a machine called a "barrier carrier" to shift the divider from one lane to another. With the barrier, roadway capacity can be optimized: three lanes in the peak direction, two lanes in the off-peak direction. The barrier can shift when a lane is taken out of service for maintenance.

In the early 2000s, the DRPA undertook the first re-decking of the Commodore Barry Bridge since it opened in 1974. The bridge deck rehabilitation project, which included improvements to the approaches (in conjunction with PennDOT and the NJDOT), was performed in three phases to minimize congestion. To accommodate traffic flow efficiently, the new moveable barrier was used such that at least three traffic lanes (two in the peak direction) were available on the bridge. The project was completed in 2002.

In 2014, the DRPA announced a five-year, $100 million to remove the old lead paint from the bridge, repaint the span, resurface the bridge deck, and repair masonry work. Bids originally went out in 2016, but the DRPA rejected a bid from Baltimore-based firm, Alpha Paint & Construction, in favor of Ohio-based firm Corcon's bid that was $10,200 higher. Although a judge ruled in favor of Alpha, a 2017 appeals court ruling held that the DRPA instead should restart the bidding process to ensure transparency. Work on the project began in 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in 2022.

PROVIDING BETTER CONNECTIONS TO DOWNTOWN CHESTER: In mid-2005, PennDOT and the DRPA announced plans to connect the Commodore Barry Bridge approach with PA 291 (Second Street) in downtown Chester. Work on the $71 million project began in 2009 and was completed in 2011. The ramps provide direct access from US 322 and I-95 to the Chester waterfront area, which is in the early stages of redevelopment highlighted by the 2010 opening of PPL Park (now Talen Energy Stadium), the home of Major League Soccer's (MLS) Philadelphia Union.

According to the DRPA, the Commodore Barry Bridge carries approximately 35,000 vehicles (AADT) across the Delaware River each day. Traffic counts have been suppressed by the absence of the US 322 Freeway, which was to have connected the eastern approach of the bridge to I-295, the New Jersey Turnpike, the NJ 55 Freeway, and the Atlantic City Expressway.

This 2014 photo shows the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322) from the Bristol Waterfront near the former Wade Dump site. (Photo by Alex Nitzman.)

SOURCES: 1985 Regional Transportation Plan, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (1969); "Bridge Promises Brighter Life for Poor of Chester" by Robert A. Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer (5/24/1970); "Report on the Status of the Federal-Aid Highway Program," Committee on Public Works, U.S. Senate (1970); "Bridge Builders Put Life on Line" by Larry Williams, The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/24/1972); "Ross, Barry Bridges Proposed" by Richard Deasy, Philadelphia Daily News (1/16/1973); "Commodore Barry Bridge To Open," The Philadelphia Inquirer (1/27/1974); "Bridgeport-Chester Bridge Opens, Replacing Ferry," The New York Times (2/02/1974); "Bridge Won't Pay, Bunting Now Says" by Terry Taylor, The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/27/1974); "Vibrations and Cracks Plague Barry Bridge" by Carlo M. Sardella, The New York Times (7/21/1974); "Dispute Over I-95 Ramp Ends" by Bob Frump, The Philadelphia Inquirer (10/30/1976); "Beyond the Flames" by Susan Q. Stranahan and Larry King, The Philadelphia Inquirer (4/30/2000); "Business Link" by Daniele Cruz, The Gloucester County Times (2/16/2004); "Chester Hoping Highway Ramps Can Deliver Prosperity," WPVI-TV (8/09/2005); "Barry Bridge Work Slated," The Delaware County Daily Times (7/03/2009); "On Betsy Ross, EZ-Pass To Get Even Easier" by Paul Nussbaum, The Philadelphia Inquirer (8/19/2009); "Commodore Barru Bridge Will Receive $100 Million Paint Job" by Paul Nussbaum, The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/03/2014); "What Color Would You Paint the Commodore Barry Bridge?" by James Jennings, Curbed Philadelphia (12/04/2014); "Judge Orders Rebid for DRPA Contract" by Jim Walsh, South Jersey Courier-Post (8/11/2017); Delaware River Port Authority; New Jersey Department of Transportation; Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; Scott Kozel; Alex Nitzman; Scott Oglesby; Sandy Smith; Christof Spieler; Jeff Taylor.

• US 322 shield by Ralph Herman.
  
• Commodore Barry Bridge shield by Delaware River Port Authority.
  
• Lightposts by Millerbernd Manufacturing Company.
  

COMMODORE BARRY BRIDGE LINKS:

• Commodore Barry Bridge (Alex Nitzman)
  
• Commodore Barry Bridge (Delaware River Port Authority)
  

COMMODORE BARRY BRIDGE CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS:

• Greater Philadelphia
  
• Southern New Jersey
  

COMMODORE BARRY BRIDGE VIDEO LINK:

• Commodore Barry Bridge (Dan Murphy)
  

• Delaware Expressway (I-95)
  
• Interstate 295 (New Jersey)
  
• New Jersey Turnpike
  
• US 322 Expressway (Pennsylvania, unbuilt)
  
• US 322 Freeway (New Jersey, unbuilt)
  

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