Washington Crossing residents fight bridge replacement. They say history is on their side

They won't use muskets and grapeshot, but residents on both sides of the Delaware River channeled the Spirit of '76 on Monday, saying they will fight plans for a larger bridge near the spot where Gen. George Washington set off to turn the tide of the American Revolution.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission met Monday and heard from residents near the Washington Crossing bridge, officials announced in February that they were considering replacing due to age, function and condition.

The proposal was immediately met with protest from residents, who live near the site of the historic Revolutionary War crossing and the bridge over the Delaware. On Monday, Washington Crossing residents crammed into the commission meeting, telling officials that replacing the narrow, metal bridge with a bigger span would destroy the bucolic setting of one of America's most historic and sacred historic sites.

John Huss, an Upper Makefield resident for 40 years, said he is disappointed the commission is considering a replacement span.

"Word on the street — and the word on the street is usually pretty good — it's already approved. It's going to be done," he told the bridge commissioners, citing unnamed "politicians" from New Jersey.

"The reality is this bridge is historic. It's a historic symbol. We need to maintain Washington Crossing for Washington Crossing. Not for transporting cars, all kinds of cars, across a bridge," he said.

Commission Chairman Aladar G. Komjathy, who lives in Lambertville, dismissed the allegation that the bridge replacement is a done deal. From the time of the announcement, the commission has stated it is only in the preliminary stages of evaluating a replacement plan and that it could take years before a decision is made.

"I take umbrage to the gentleman who said that New Jersey already made the decision. The farthest thing from the truth," he said. "There's no final decisions yet. A lot of this stuff is just urban or suburban legend, of what's being said out there. Unfortunately, certain people have been misinformed about the process."

The commission Monday was simply voting to start the hiring of a consulting engineer, and the process will take years before a final decision is made, he said.

The narrow, clattering, open-grate Washington Crossing bridge connects Route 532 in Upper Makefield, Bucks County with Route 546 in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.

It carried about 7,200 vehicles per day in 2023 and was rated as “fair” when it was inspected in 2020. The bridge's superstructure is 120 years old. It's substructure is almost 200 years old. Fender-benders and bent and busted side-view mirrors are not uncommon for motorists crossing the span.

More: Bridge over the Delaware River could be replaced in Washington Crossing. Here's the plan

Residents mentioned a myriad of solutions. Fix it. Strengthen it. Pop people crossing the bridge in violation of its weight limit, or have the bridge monitor (a uniformed guard on the Jersey side) stop foolish tractor trailer and other oversized vehicles from crossing.

"I'll save everybody millions of dollars and a lot of aggravation — just put signs up saying, 'Fold in your mirrors' and this whole problem goes away," said Upper Makefield Supervisor Tim Thomas, one of three township leaders to attend the meeting.

He said the bridge commission had not had the township in the loop on its plans, and Upper Makefield only knew of the Monday meeting to vote on an engineering consultant for the project through a public notice.

"We don't find it a bane," Thomas said. "We love the bridge, we love living here. It doesn't bother us at all. Let me tell you why there's so much passion in this room. We are the guardians of history. Literally, the cradle of democracy is on that land where the bridge is. That's not hyperbole."

Washington Crossing Park is the pride of Upper Makefield, said township Supervisor Tom Cino.

"It's not just an Upper Makefield item. It is clearly a national treasure," he told the commission.

Upper Make Board Chair Yvette Taylor, asked that the township be apprised of any developments on the bridge plans.

Resident Mike Phillips made a case for keeping the old bridge.

"We have a tendency in our society to favor convenience and utility," he said. "This local community is completely different than that. We tend to favor lifestyle over utility. We favor beauty over convenience .... And that goes for this bridge. The way I see it, we've got Scudders Falls here, and it's got huge capacity. That's convenience and utility and that serves a regional base. Ten, fifteen miles north, you've got the 202 bridge. Utility and convenience.

"But we've got two local bridges. The New Hope bridge, and the Washington Crossing bridge. And they're beautiful. They are lifestyle. They are beauty. Nobody is going over (to Scudder Falls) with an easel and painting that bridge or the 202 bridge, or taking pictures of it. But have you ever walked across the Washington Crossing bridge during a summer sunset?"

He said you can't put a price on it.

Commission Chairman Komjathy said there will be many more meetings about the bridge plan, and public comment will be welcome. The process will be long and hard. Residents said they aren't going away.

"I'm a New Jersey-side commissioner," Komjathy said. "I've lived in this area my entire life. My father-in-law would kill me if anything happened to Washington Crossing."

JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Washington Crossing bridge replacement plan meets opposition