The March 15 open house will be followed by a public reforestation hearing Watch video
EWING -- An open house will be held next week to address questions and concerns about the $328 million project to replace the Scudder Falls Bridge.
An aerial photo of the Scudder Falls Bridge. The public will be able to look over project concepts, renderings and information boards and ask questions at the open house, which will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. March 15 in the ballroom at the West Trenton Volunteer Fire Company.
It will be followed by a public reforestation hearing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to gather comments on the planned tree-clearing work and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission's reforestation plan to compensate for the loss of those trees.
Earlier this year, crews began clearing trees and brush on the Pennsylvania side to make way for noise-reducing walls. Similar work is expected to get underway after Oct. 1 on the New Jersey side near the bridge, its Interstate-95 New approach and the Route 29 interchange.
The hearing will include a presentation on the reforestation plan and a public comment period.
Verbal comments will be recorded by a court stenographer and written comments will be accepted at the forum and for 60 days after the hearing.
The bridge replacement project involves a heavily commuted 4.4-mile portion of I-95. The existing span, which opened in 1961, was rated "functionally obsolete."
The project involves:
- Replacing the existing four-lane bridge with a twin span carrying six lanes of through-traffic and three auxiliary lanes
- Overhauling the accident-prone Route 29/175 interchange on the New Jersey side
- Reconfiguring the New Hope-Yardley/Taylorsville Road interchange in Lower Makefield, Pa.
- Making drainage upgrades and other improvements along the approach highway between the Route 29/175 interchange and Bear Tavern Road
- Widening of the Pennsylvania I-95 approach between the Route 332 exit and the bridge by adding another lane and full shoulders in each direction
- Providing a bicycle and pedestrian walkway alongside the main river bridge
- Constructing full inside and outside shoulders on both replacement bridge spans
- Constructing noise-abatement walls along the roads leading to and from the bridge
- Installing an all-electronic "cashless" toll system
Full construction is expected to get underway in early 2017 and will take up to four years to complete. More precise start and end dates will be determined after the final design work is completed later this year.
The ballroom is located at 40 West Upper Ferry Road in Ewing.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.