PROJECT DETAILS
Project cost: $220.0 millionConstruction start: Spring 2025
Estimated completion: Early 2028
Contractor: Skanska Koch
COMMODORE BARY BRIDGE PAINTING & REHABILIATION PROJECT
Project Overview
The $220 million rehabilitation project for the Commodore Barry Bridge is focused on preserving and enhancing this critical transportation link between Chester, PA and Bridgeport, NJ. In 2024, the bridge carried 15.1 million vehicles, averaging over 41,000 vehicles daily. This large-scale endeavor, slated for completion in early 2028, aims to prevent deterioration and ensure long-term safety and reliability of the bridge’s steel components.
Project scope includes:
- Repainting and Repair: The primary goal is to blast clean and repaint the bridge’s cantilever truss, steel barriers, and overhead gantries, which have not undergone maintenance painting since 1996.
- Structural Enhancements: Crews will repair and strengthen critical components, including truss members, stringers, bearings, vibration absorbers, wind pins, and install temporary jacking systems to support the bridge during repairs.
- Concrete Repairs: Concrete deck repairs and spall repairs to piers and pier caps will be performed.
- Modernization: Upgrades to safety features and infrastructure will include replacing the existing movable barrier and barrier machine to improve traffic management and enhance safety. In addition, more than 14,000 linear feet of electrical conduit and wiring will be replaced.
Once completed, this project will significantly enhance the bridge’s reliability and safety, benefiting the 41,000 vehicles that use it daily.
What Motorists Can Expect
This is a complex, multi-year project that requires careful planning and staging to keep traffic moving on a bridge with only five lanes. The limited number of lanes makes it especially challenging to meet the needs of daily motorists while also accommodating essential construction work.
Motorists should expect periodic lane closures, temporary traffic stoppages, and reduced speed limits in construction zones. Please check traffic conditions before you travel, allow extra time, and consider alternate routes when possible. For updates on significant disruptions, sign up for travel text alerts.
Possible Weekday Intermittent Stoppages
Short traffic stoppages may occur in one or both directions for 15 minute intervals, 2-3 times daily between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The temporary traffic holds are necessary to safely lift and install steel reinforcement plates overhead using cranes.
Wide Load Restrictions
Due to lane constraints during construction, wide load restrictions may be in effect for the duration of the project. For permits and additional information, please click here.
In The News
- Skanska wins $220m contract to rehabilitate and paint Commodore Barry Bridge | World Construction Network
- Windy Conditions Require Intricate Phasing for Commodore Barry Bridge Blast Cleaning and Repainting Project | Engineering News Record
- Commodore Barry Bridge going under construction. What to expect for your commute. | Courier Post
- Crews to begin replacing barrier wall system on Commodore Barry Bridge | CBS3
Photo Gallery
Crews make concrete deck repairs — vital maintenance work to preserve the strength and stability of the Commodore Barry Bridge.
Close-up view of a typical bolted plate repair on the Commodore Barry Bridge — part of ongoing efforts to strengthen key structural components.
The project's weld inspection process included visual and microscopic analysis of core samples from selected weld areas to assess structural integrity and quality.
The new Barrier Mover Machine was delivered to the Commodore Barry Bridge on May 1, 2025 — another step forward in enhancing safety and efficiency.
Nearly 5,000 individual steel blocks make up the Commodore Barry Bridge's barrier divider wall — a critical element for safe and flexible lane management.
The bridge's steel truss has been blasted and primed and is now awaiting its final protective coating. This multi-step process helps ensure long-term durability and corrosion resistance.
Multimedia
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