The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) has awarded a contract worth about US $195m to Swedish construction and development company Skanska to rehabilitate the Benjamin Franklin Bridge that connects Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey, US.
Under the contract, Skanska will be responsible for the rehabilitation of a suspension bridge about over 1,100m from anchorage to anchorage, carrying seven traffic lanes and two rail lines.
Scope of work
The scope of work includes the installation of a main cable dehumidification system and elastomeric wrapping, painting, walkway widening, miscellaneous steel repairs, rehabilitation of the anchorages, and decorative lighting. Construction is currently underway on the rehabilitation project and is planned to be completed in December 2024.
Also Read: US $463 million bridge to be constructed in Maryland, US.
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority, it is one of four primary vehicular bridges between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, along with the Betsy Ross, Walt Whitman, and Tacony-Palmyra bridges. It carries Interstate 6.
The chief engineer of the bridge was Polish-born Ralph Modjeski, the design engineer was Leon Moisseiff, the supervising architect was Paul Philippe Cret, and the construction engineer was Montgomery B. Case. Work began on January 6, 1922. At the peak of construction, 1,300 people worked on the bridge, and 15 died during its construction. The bridge was originally painted by a commercial painting company owned by David A. Salkind, of Philadelphia, which also painted the Golden Gate Bridge.
The bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1926, three days ahead of its scheduled opening on the nation’s 150th anniversary. Upon completion, its 533m span was the world’s longest for a suspension bridge, a distinction it held until the opening of the Ambassador Bridge in 1929. The name was changed to “Benjamin Franklin Bridge” in 1955, as a second Delaware River suspension bridge connecting Philadelphia and New Jersey was under construction Walt Whitman Bridge.
