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Released: 5/21/2008 

DRPA Awards Walt Whitman Bridge Steel Painting And Deleading Contract

The Delaware River Port Authority has awarded a $9,767,477 contract to Jupiter Painting of Croydon, Pennsylvania, to remove the existing lead based paint and apply a new high performance coating system to the nine deck trusses of the New Jersey approaches to the Walt Whitman Bridge. In addition, the DRPA has awarded a $968,306 contract to Urban Engineers of Philadelphia to monitor the project.

This is the second phase of the Steel Painting Project on the Walt Whitman Bridge. The first phase involved the approaches on the Pennsylvania side of the river. Another future phase will include the bridge span itself.

According to DRPA Chief Executive Officer John J. Matheussen, “This project is virtually identical to what’s taking place now on the Philadelphia side of the Ben Franklin Bridge.” Matheussen adds "the public will be kept informed every step of the way”. A public meeting will be held in Gloucester City early this summer.

DRPA Chief Engineer, William Brooks, says “this project will take about 15-months to complete and the work should begin in mid to late summer.” Brooks adds “an assessment of the Walt Whitman Bridge shows early signs of deterioration of the steel structure and this project will provide the proper level of corrosion protection to extend the life of the structure.”

The Delaware River Port Authority is a regional transportation and development agency. DRPA owns and operates the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross Bridges, and PATCO, the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal and the RiverLink Ferry.

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