Global InformationDelaware Memorial Bridge information
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011) |
Delaware Memorial Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Looking southbound | |
| Coordinates | 39°41′21″N 75°31′08″W / 39.68927°N 75.51897°W |
| Carries | 8 lanes of   I-295 / US 40 |
| Crosses | Delaware River |
| Locale | New Castle, Delaware, and Pennsville Township, New Jersey |
| Maintained by | Delaware River and Bay Authority |
| ID number | 1737 |
| Website | www |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | steel suspension bridge |
| Total length | 10,765 feet (3,281 m) (eastbound) 10,796 feet (3,291 m) (westbound) |
| Width | 59.1 feet (18 m) (eastbound) 58.7 feet (18 m) (westbound) |
| Longest span | 2,150 feet (655 m) |
| Clearance above | 17.9 feet (5 m) |
| Clearance below | 174 feet (53 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | August 15, 1951 (now eastbound) September 12, 1968 (westbound) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 80,000 |
| Toll | Cars $5.00 cash, $4.75 E-ZPass, tractor-trailers $28.00 (westbound) |
| Location | |
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The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm of Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff with consulting help from engineer Othmar Ammann, whose other designs include the George Washington Bridge and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
The bridges provide a regional connection for long-distance travelers. While not a part of Interstate 95, they connect two parts of the highway: the Delaware Turnpike (Interstate 95 in Delaware) on the south side with the New Jersey Turnpike (later Interstate 95 in New Jersey) on the north. They also connect Interstate 495, U.S. Route 13, and Route 9 in New Castle, Delaware, with U.S. Route 130 in Pennsville Township, New Jersey (at the settlement of Deepwater, New Jersey). The Delaware Memorial and Benjamin Franklin Bridge are the only crossings of the Delaware River with both U.S. Highway and Interstate Highway designations.
The bridges are dedicated to those from both New Jersey and Delaware who died in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. On the Delaware side of the bridge is a War Memorial, visible from the northbound-side lanes. The toll facility is operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority.
The Delaware Memorial Bridge is the southernmost and the largest fixed vehicular crossing of the Delaware River. It is also the only fixed vehicular crossing between Delaware and New Jersey. However, at Fort Mott, New Jersey, there is a small amount of land on the New Jersey side of the river that is part of the State of Delaware, and thus there are pedestrian crossings in between those states, but not spanning the river. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry provides an alternate route between travelers from New Jersey and the Northeastern states to southern Delaware.