DE Memorial Bridge Breaking Traffic Records
The Delaware Memorial Bridge continues to break traffic records in the New Year. In January the bridge handled over 1.3-million vehicles – in February over 1.2-million vehicles traveled through the southbound toll plaza. The previous January record has stood since 2006 – and February’s previous record has been on the books since 2004. The bridge has now registered 9 consecutive months of record traffic volume – dating back to last June.
Record breaking bridge traffic stats have also been logged in ten of the past twelve months. For the first two months of 2020, total Bridge traffic was 2,560,464 vehicles, a 6.6% increase compared to the same period last year.
According to Thomas J. Cook, Executive Director for the DRBA, the continued rise in total traffic using the Delaware Memorial Bridge can probably be traced to a number of factors. “Not only has this winter been one of the warmest on record, but our region also didn’t encounter any measurable snow or ice storms that alter travel plans and negatively impact our traffic,” Cook said. “Combining the favorable weather conditions with a strong economy and low, reasonable gas prices, the Bridge continues to register positive year-over-year growth in all vehicle classes.”
Cook also noted that the Delaware Memorial Bridge is well-equipped to handle the ever-increasing traffic volume. “Last year, we conducted a comprehensive load rating analysis on the Twin Spans,” Cook added. “Due to the Authority’s effective and on-going maintenance and capital improvement programs, these Spans continue to be able to handle the weight present even if all eight lanes were full of vehicles from one side of the bridge to the other.”
In 2019, the Delaware Memorial Bridge registered more than 18 million vehicles in a calendar year for the first time ever, logging 18,288,314 vehicles through the southbound toll plaza. The Bridge also set numerous records, including best single month in history, most number of 60,000+ days in one year, highest traffic volume for a weekend period (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) set on August 16-18, and the first time October and November ever topped 1.5 million vehicles.
