Four I-295 ramps to be closed beginning Monday as part of Scudder Falls Bridge project

Four Interstate 295 ramps that feed off of or onto I-295 will be shut down to all traffic for about five weeks beginning Monday, July 12, as part of the next phase of the Scudder Falls Bridge project.

Three ramps are on the Yardley, Pa. side of the Taylorsville Road interchange. The fourth ramp is the Interstate 295 off-ramp to Route 29 in New Jersey. Detours will be in place 24 hours a day.

Officials said the ramp closures are needed to complete the new bridge alignment.

At the I-295/Taylorsville Road interchange (New Hope-Yardley, Exit 10) in Pennsylvania, three ramps will close: 

· The I-295 eastbound off-ramp to Taylorsville Road.

· The Taylorsville Road southbound entry ramp to I-295 eastbound/southbound immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge.

· And the Taylorsville Road northbound entry ramp to I-295 eastbound/southbound immediately before the old Scudder Falls Bridge.

Affected motorists from these ramp closures will be detoured to the Yardley-Newtown/Route 332 interchange (Exit 8) either along I-295 westbound from the Taylorsville Road interchange or via Taylorsville Road and Route 332/West Afton Avenue/Yardley-Newtown Road.

At the I-295/Route 29 interchange (Exit 76) in New Jersey, the off-ramp to Route 29 immediately after crossing the Scudder Falls (I-295) Bridge from Pennsylvania into New Jersey will be closed. Drivers will be directed to the Scotch Road interchange (Exit ramp 73-A) where they can use the loop ramps to cross over I-295 and make a U-turn onto I-295 northbound so they can access the Route 29 exit ramp immediately before the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge (last exit in New Jersey).

The four ramp closures and detours will enable construction crews to reconstruct the ramps before they are put into a final configuration with a new permanent alignment of I-295 eastbound in Pennsylvania and I-295 southbound in New Jersey.  When completed, the newly aligned ramps will feed traffic to and from the second Scudder Falls Bridge span that is nearing completion on the downstream side of the first span that opened to traffic in July of 2019.

Work during the five-week closure will include, but not be limited to, excavation, installation of drainage facilities and guide rails, curbing, paving and striping.

Commuters who access I-295 eastbound in Bucks County, Pa. to travel across the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge to locations in Mercer County should plan ahead and allow extra time to reach their destinations while the ramp closures are in effect.

Officials said Pennsylvania-bound I-295 motorists should only be impacted moderately by the changes. All interchange ramps along that direction of I-295 remain open.

The work on the various interchange ramps is weather sensitive and the schedule could be changed if necessary in the weeks ahead. If everything goes according to current plans, the four reconstructed ramps would reopen to traffic and tie into a new alignment of I-295 New Jersey-bound travel lanes starting Aug. 16.  At the same time, the Scudder Falls Bridge downstream span would open to traffic along with new approach bridges over the Delaware Canal and Taylorsville Road in Pennsylvania, and a two-span approach bridge over the Route 29 northbound bypass roadway, the Delaware & Raritan Canal, and NJ Route 175/River Road in New Jersey.

The Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project would then shift into its third and final construction stage. Stage three work is expected to continue until mid-October, with I-295 traffic shifted to the outside lanes in the Pennsylvania-bound direction on the current bridge and in the New Jersey-bound direction on the second bridge that is slated to open Aug. 16. Officials said this two-month period will largely entail final roadway construction within the median between the New Jersey-bound and Pennsylvania-bound roadways.  The final two months of Stage 3 work until mid-December would then entail final pavement surfacing and lane striping. The substantial completion of the project is currently scheduled for mid-to-late December. Punch-list work would then take place until May of 2022.

When completed, the bridge’s upstream span will carry only Pennsylvania-bound I-295 traffic, with three through lanes and one auxiliary lane to handle accelerating and decelerating traffic between interchanges at Route 29 in New Jersey and Taylorsville Road in Pennsylvania. The downstream span will carry only New Jersey-bound I-295 traffic, which three through lanes and two auxiliary lanes to handle accelerating and decelerating traffic between Taylorsville Road in Pennsylvania and the first two interchanges in New Jersey (Route 29/Exit 76 and Bear Tavern Road/Exit 75).