Delaware Memorial Bridge

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Delaware Memorial Bridge
Looking southbound
Coordinates	39°41′21″N 75°31′08″W / 39.68927°N 75.51897°W / 39.68927; -75.51897
Carries	8 lanes of I-295 / US 40
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	New Castle County, Delaware,[1] and Pennsville Township, New Jersey
Maintained by	Delaware River and Bay Authority
ID number	1737
Website	www.delawarememorialbridge.com
Characteristics
Design	steel suspension bridge
Total length	10,765 feet (3,281 m) (eastbound) 10,796 feet (3,291 m) (westbound)
Width	59.1 feet (18 m) (eastbound) 58.7 feet (18 m) (westbound)
Longest span	2,150 feet (655 m)
Clearance above	17.9 feet (5 m)
Clearance below	174 feet (53 m)
History
Opened	August 15, 1951; 73 years ago (1951-08-15) (eastbound) September 12, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-09-12) (westbound)
Statistics
Daily traffic	100,000
Toll	Cars $5.00 cash, $4.75 E-ZPass, tractor-trailers $28.00 (Delaware side; westbound only)
Location

The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm of Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff with consulting help from engineer Othmar Ammann, whose other designs include the George Washington Bridge and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

The bridges provide a regional connection for long-distance travelers. While not a part of Interstate 95, they connect two parts of the highway: the Delaware Turnpike (Interstate 95 in Delaware) on the south side with the New Jersey Turnpike (later Interstate 95 in New Jersey) on the north. They also connect Interstate 495, U.S. Route 13, and Route 9 in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle,^[1] with U.S. Route 130 in Pennsville Township, New Jersey (at the settlement of Deepwater, New Jersey). The Delaware Memorial and Benjamin Franklin Bridge are the only crossings of the Delaware River with both U.S. Highway and Interstate Highway designations.

The bridges are dedicated to those from both New Jersey and Delaware who died in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. On the Delaware side of the bridge is a War Memorial, visible from the northbound-side lanes. The toll facility is operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge is the southernmost and the largest fixed vehicular crossing of the Delaware River. It is also the only fixed vehicular crossing between Delaware and New Jersey. However, at Fort Mott, New Jersey, there is a small amount of land on the New Jersey side of the river that is part of the State of Delaware, and thus there are pedestrian crossings in between those states, but not spanning the river. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry provides an alternate route between travelers from New Jersey and the Northeastern states to southern Delaware.

On clear days, the skyline of Philadelphia is visible in the distance on the left going to New Jersey and on the right leaving New Jersey. Wilmington, Delaware, only a few miles away from the bridge, is also visible. Other landmarks that can be seen from the bridge includes the cooling tower for PSEG's Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station near Salem, New Jersey, the Delaware City Refinery in Delaware City, Delaware, the Reedy Point Bridge, also in Delaware City, both the St. Georges Bridge and the Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge in St. Georges, Delaware, and the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, Pennsylvania.

As of 2024^[update], more than 100,000 vehicles cross the twin spans on their combined total of eight lanes daily.^[2] The largest single day of traffic had 79,488 private and commercial vehicles cross the bridge one-way on November 29, 2009. The largest single weekend for traffic totals had 211,685 vehicles cross the bridge one-way, August 16–18, 2019.^[3]