Starting April 4, the St. Georges Bridge will be closed for repairs and closed to all traffic for about 18 months.
The Delaware Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District announced Thursday that repairs are planned on the span along Route 13 over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
The $45.8 million contract, awarded to J.D. Eckman, Inc., includes replacing the bridge decking, median barrier, bridge approaches and road surfaces and repairing other bridge structural features, said DelDOT community relations coordinator Robin Bryson.
The project is funded by the federal government through Energy and Water appropriations.
The bridge is a tied arch structure built in 1941 and modified in 2010. The last major construction project on the bridge was lead paint abatement in 2000-01.
During construction, traffic will be detoured to the Senator Roth Bridge on Route 1.
St. Georges Bridge will close to all traffic starting April 4. The contractor will begin to close bicycle lanes in February, but at least one bicycle lane will remain open until April 4.
See what happened with previous closing:Traffic jams on first day St. Georges Bridge is closed
Reedy Point Bridge set to reopen in March
As another possible route for cyclists and drivers, the Reedy Point Bridge on Route 9 is scheduled to reopen before April 4.
Route 9 between Polktown Road and Reedy Point Road, including the bridge, is closed for construction of a roundabout intersection at the Fort DuPont development, but is scheduled to reopen March 20.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate and development stories. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.
