Burlington County Bridge Commission

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The Burlington County Bridge Commission is a public agency responsible for the operation and maintenance of several bridges in Burlington County, New Jersey across the Delaware River. It now manages eight bridges, including the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, and the Riverside-Delanco Bridge. Minor bridges operated by the Commission are the Pennsauken Creek Bridge, Pompeston Creek Bridge, Route 73 Overpass, Swede Run Bridge and the Twin Pipe Culvert.

Tolls are collected in New Jersey for traffic heading towards Pennsylvania at the Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol Bridges. No tolls are collected for traffic crossing into New Jersey. Tolls range from $2.00 for two-axle cars, vans, light pick-up trucks and motorcycles, up to $22.50 for five-axle trucks. E-ZPass is accepted for payment of tolls.

[edit] History

The Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders created the Burlington County Bridge Commission on October 22, 1948, and simultaneously approved the purchase by the Commission of the Burlington-Bristol and Tacony-Palmyra Bridges from a private company.

In 1962, the Commission built a single span bridge over Route 73 and a multi-span bridge over Pennsauken Creek, on River Road.

In 1966, the Commission became responsible for almost seven miles of roadway on County Route 543 (River Road), from Route 73 in Palmyra to the halfway house in Delran, including the three bridges/structures that crossed over Pompeston Creek, Swede Run and Twin Pipe Culvert. This acquisition also included the movable Riverside-Delanco Bridge across the Rancocas Creek. This arrangement with the County was agreed upon by the Commission because River Road was considered to be a “feeder road” for both the Burlington-Bristol and Tacony-Palmyra Bridges.

Of the eight bridges, the Commission has one each of the three standard types of movable bridges. The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge has a double leaf Bascule Span, the Burlington-Bristol Bridge has a vertical lift span and the Riverside-Delanco Bridge has a horizontal swing span.