On January 20th, the Delaware River Bridge was closed and had to be worked on due to a fractured beam. This caused some worry for the people who travel over the bridge every day for work, school or travel.
Luckily the bridge reopened on Friday, March 10th. But while it was closed for those several weeks, it caused some complaints for drivers who had to switch up their usual routes.
“I visit from Ocean, New Jersey and it adds an extra 10 to 20 minutes to my drive depending on traffic,” Sam Ettorre said.
“I commute from Allentown, New Jersey so it is typically an hour. I think they are doing the right thing by fixing the bridge now. There are plenty of signs reminding you that the bridge is closed,” John Solewin, associate director of transfer admissions, said.
Officials believed that the fracture was caused due to the immense amounts of pressure from carrying at least 42,000 cars a day! According to Philly.com, ‘A possible explanation they raised: In December 2015, a cashless tolling point on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge’s westbound lanes replaced a traditional toll booth, which could have allowed excessively heavy truck traffic to cross it.’
Not too many Cabrini students have to deal with the bridge being closed, but it does affect some teachers and staff that commute from the Jersey area.
“It takes me 1 ½ hours to get to work without traffic using Exit 6. However, with Exit 6 being closed it can take me an hour and 45 minutes to two hours to get to work in the AM. I usually leave my house at 7:00 a.m. and I arrive at work around 9:30 a.m. Leaving work at 5:00 p.m. I would get home around 7:30 p.m. at the earliest,” Stephanie Gibbs, director of graduate admissions, said.
Gibbs commutes all the way from Fords, New Jersey so this recent incident really puts her out of the way. While the bridge was under construction, there were reports that it would reopen in April in a “best-case scenario,” officials said. But luckily, they bridge opened much sooner and now it is perfectly safe for drivers.
