St. Georges Bridge (Delaware) - History and Near Replacement

History and Near Replacement

Prior to the opening of the paralleling Delaware Route 1 Turnpike and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Bridge in 1995 (renamed the Senator William V. Roth, Jr., Bridge), the bridge was the main north–south crossing in Delaware, as such, suffered from a deteriorating concrete deck and support beams that forced both the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) and the Army Corps of Engineers to place a weight restriction and forced all through truck traffic onto the paralleling Summit Bridge (U.S. Route 301), seven miles (11 km) to the west. The late U.S. Senator Bill Roth, who saw the need for a new crossing, was a main proponent in securing federal funding for the new C&D Canal Bridge.

After the opening of the paralleling C&D Canal Bridge, the Army Corps of Engineers closed the St. Georges Bridge in anticipation of demolishing the structure. Local opposition arose, especially from residents in St. Georges, whose town spans both sides of the canal; these residents would have had to travel out of their way and pay an additional toll to go from one half of the town to the other. Instead of tearing down the bridge, the Army Corps of Engineers, using data issued from the Delaware Department of Transportation and the U.S. Census Bureau, rehabilitated the bridge between 1998 and 2001. A new concrete deck was constructed, and deteriorated beams and joints were replaced. The lead-based paint on the bridge was removed and replaced with a lead-free primer and salt-resistant enamel (the C&D Canal connects two rias, having from time to time been inundated with brackish water during dry spells), and the bridge was reopened to local traffic. As a result of the need to maintain quick access to both U.S. 13 and the Del. Rt. 1 Turnpike, both the St. Georges Bridge and the C&D Canal Bridge have no tolls (the Army Corps of Engineers allowed DelDOT to build a South St. Georges interchange to U.S. 13 between the bridge and the Biddles Corner toll facility, with provisions to build another exit north of the bridge if needed). Prior to the mid‑1990s, the St. Georges Bridge also served as the crossing for U.S. Route 301, but this has since been shifted to the Summit Bridge along with Delaware Routes 71 and 896.