Bridge Closed for Repairs

Philadelphia area commuters who use the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge will have to find an alternate route from 6 p.m. through Monday. The span is closing for repairs.

When the bridge between Philadelphia's Tacony section and Palmyra, New Jersey, first opened on August 14, 1929, the chief design engineer, Ralph Modjeski said it was "a bridge which with proper maintenance we hope will last 100 years."

It's lasted nearly 75 years, and Bob Stears with the Burlington County Bridge Commission says it's again in need of maintenance.

Stears says workers this holiday weekend will replace track plates that are 75 years old.

The plates are part of the mechanism that open and close the bridge, and Stears says they've finally worn out.

Stears says the work may be completed before Monday. The cost of the project is about $3.5 million.

Author: NBC10/AP