Walt Whitman Bridge project to close lanes for 3 years

An ambitious, $128 million project to rebuild the deck of the Walt Whitman Bridge, approved on Wednesday by the Delaware River Port Authority, will create traffic headaches for the next four years.

Preliminary work on the 53-year-old bridge will start in August, followed by re-decking to be completed by the summer of 2014, according to DRPA officials said.

The board of the bi-state agency approved a $128 million contract to replace the Walt Whitman deck and install new parapets and a moveable barrier to separate eastbound and westbound traffic. The contract was awarded to American Bridge Co. of Coraopolis, Pa.

The board also approved a $11.7 million contract to monitor the construction. That was awarded to a joint venture of Urban Engineers Inc. and URS Corp., of Philadelphia.

Construction crews will take out one lane of traffic at a time beginning next year, DRPA chief executive John Matheussen said.

"We've worked real hard to arrange to inconvenience the public as little as possible," Matheussen said.

The contract includes financial bonuses for early completion and penalties for finishing late, so the DRPA hopes the work will be done before the end of the three-year, 10-month contract, Matheussen said.

The bridge work is being paid for with an increase in tolls that went into effect in 2008.