Walt_Whitman_Bridge
 

Walt Whitman Bridge

Walt Whitman Bridge
Walt Whitman Bridge
Official name Walt Whitman Bridge
Carries 7 lanes of I-76 and 2 sidewalks
Crosses Delaware River
Locale Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Gloucester City, New Jersey
Maintained by Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
ID number 4500010
Design steel suspension bridge
Longest span 609.6 meters (2,000 feet)
Total length 3,651.81 meters (11,981 feet)
Width 28.04 meters (92 feet)
Vertical clearance 150 feet
Clearance below 45.72 meters (150 feet)
AADT 120,000
Opening date May 16, 1957
Toll $3.00 (westbound) (E-ZPass)
Maps and aerial photos
Philadelphia Portal

The Walt Whitman Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges on the east coast of the United States. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority.

Construction on the bridge began in 1953, and it opened to traffic on May 16, 1957. The bridge has a total length of 11,981 feet (3,651 meters), and a main span of 2,000 feet (610 meters). The bridge has seven lanes, three in each direction and a center lane that is shifted variably (via a zipper barrier) to accommodate heavy traffic.[1]

The bridge is a part of Interstate 76 (which, between the river and the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is known as the "Schuylkill Expressway"). Along with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Betsy Ross Bridge, Delaware Memorial Bridge, and Commodore Barry Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of five expressway-standard bridges connecting the Philadelphia area with southern New Jersey.

On March 27, 2008, the bridge was closed for almost 4 hours due to a police standoff with a man in the westbound lanes approximately â…“ of the way across the span.[2]

Summary Provided Under GNU Free Documentation License