New Hope-Lambertville Bridge lit up in new LED lights

☑️ Part of the 120-year-old bridge was closed for most of 2024

☑️ The new LED lights can be lit for holidays and special occasions

☑️ The lights are 85% more energy efficient than an incandescent bulb

New LED lights were lit for the first time Tuesday night on the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge as a major renovation comes to a close.

The 120-year-old bridge had been closed to New Jersey-bound traffic since January 2024 for what was planned to be a 10-month project. The closure was extended into 2025 after work crews discovered an 18-inch steel pin that is 4 inches in diameter located in the bridge’s second span from the Pennsylvania side had rusted and was in danger of failing under a heavy load.

The bridge was reopened to all traffic in January and joins the Lower Trenton Bridge, aka the Lower Bridge, and the Northampton Street bridge in Easton as the third Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission span to be lit.

The South Philadelphia String Band led a ceremonial first walk across the bridge and a special plaque was unveiled by project manager Michael McCandless.

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More bridges to be lit

DRJTBC Executive Director Joseph Resta told New Jersey 101.5 that they will light up in appropriate colors for major holidays but can also be lit up for special occasions.

"It could be for Breast Cancer Awareness or Parkinson's or there are many, many things on the calendar for various illnesses, but also your routine holidays, Fourth of July, Christmas, Memorial Day, the Eagles winning the Super Bowl Day, the Phillies," Resta said.

Resta expects that the lights will also bring tourists to both sides of the Delaware River to admire the lights.

"We're a transportation and interstate commerce agency and lights bring folks to the various river towns to A. see the lights, but B, to eat and shop and do all the other things they do when they purchase in the towns that abut us," Resta said.

The LED lights have a lifespan of 10 years and use 85% less energy than an incandescent bulb

The DRJTBC's Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge between Frenchtown in Hunterdon County and the Uhlerstown section of Tinicum Township will also get lights.

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