Delaware River Turnpike-Toll Bridge

The Delaware River Turnpike-Toll Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Delaware Turnpike Bridge or simply the Delaware River Bridge is a continuous through truss arch bridge over the Delaware River between Burlington, New Jersey and Bristol, Pennsylvania. The bridge serves as an expressway bypass of the narrow and moveable Burlington-Bristol Bridge downstream, and therefore charges a higher toll rate.

The bridge carries Interstate 276, which is signed as the Pennsylvania Turnpike in some sections. However, the highway is not officially the Pennsylvania Turnpike when it crosses the bridge, but the Pennsylvania side of the bridge is still maintained and monitored by the Penn Turnpike Commission.

The bridge was closed to all traffic from January 20th until March 9th, 2017 after a routine inspection discovered a crack in the superstructure. While the bridge was closed, traffic was re-routed to use the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, and therefore marine traffic was partially suspended due to the increased automobile load on the moveable structure. Alternatively, traffic could take Interstate 95 north of Trenton, New Jersey and cross the Scudder Falls Bridge, but this added at least an additional 20 miles to the travel distance. Therefore, many motorists chose the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, on which tolls were temporarily suspended.

The overall design of the Delaware River Turnpike-Toll Bridge is similar to that of several other major bridges, including the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge over the Paptsco River in Baltimore, Maryland and the Vincent R. Casciano Memorial Bridge over the Newark Bay in Newark, New Jersey.

The bridge uses an all-electronic tolling system, meaning that there is no actual toll booth to stop at. Instead, cameras will read your license plate, and, if you don't have a valid EZ-PASS or legal equivalent, will send you a bill in the mail. This system, often called "Pay-By-Plate" is increasingly being used by many states as a way to reduce traffic delays on major highways.