Walt Whitman Bridge

Walt Whitman Bridge
Official name	Walt Whitman Bridge
Carries	7 lanes of I-76
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Gloucester City, New Jersey
Maintained by	Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
ID number	4500010
Design	steel suspension bridge
Total length	3,651.81 meters (11,981 feet)
Width	28.04 meters (92 feet)
Longest span	609.6 meters (2,000 feet)
Vertical clearance	150 feet
Clearance below	45.72 meters (150 feet)
AADT	120,000
Opening date	May 16, 1957
Toll	$4.00 (westbound) (E-ZPass)
Coordinates	39°54′27″N 75°08′31″W / 39.9074°N -75.142°E / 39.9074; -75.142Coordinates: 39°54′27″N 75°08′31″W / 39.9074°N -75.142°E / 39.9074; -75.142

Philadelphia portal

The Walt Whitman Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges on the east coast of the United States. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority.

Construction on the bridge began in 1953, and it opened to traffic on May 16, 1957. The bridge has a total length of 11,981 feet (3,651 m), and a main span of 2,000 feet (610 m). The bridge has seven lanes, three in each direction and a center lane that is shifted variably (via a zipper barrier) to accommodate heavy traffic.^[1]

The bridge is a part of Interstate 76 (which, between the river and the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is known as the "Schuylkill Expressway"). Along with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Betsy Ross Bridge, Delaware Memorial Bridge, and Commodore Barry Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of five expressway-standard bridges connecting the Philadelphia area with southern New Jersey.

Tolls

Eastbound on the Walt Whitman Bridge

A $4.00 one-way toll is charged to westbound passenger vehicles (less than 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) gross vehicle weight) traveling from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. A $12 credit is given on a per tag basis for any DRPA-issued E-ZPass tag that crosses one of the four DRPA bridges 18 times in a calendar month. Trucks, commercial vehicles, mobile homes and recreation vehicles (weighing at least 7,000 lb (3,200 kg). gross vehicle weight) pay $7 cash per axle. Seniors aged 65 and over can use a ticket program to pay $2.00 per trip (not integrated with E-ZPass).

There is no toll for eastbound vehicles traveling from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

See also

• List of crossings of the Delaware River

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walt Whitman Bridge

• Delaware River Port Authority site
• Walt Whitman Bridge historic overview (phillyroads.com)
• Walt Whitman Bridge in the Structurae database

Crossings of Delaware River Upstream RiverLink Ferry Walt Whitman Bridge Downstream Commodore Barry Bridge

Coordinates: 39°54′19″N 75°07′47″W / 39.90528°N 75.12972°W / 39.90528; -75.12972