Traffic will be stopped briefly late Tuesday night when a ship with cranes passes under the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
At about 11:55 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, the Zhen Hua 25, a heavy lift vessel transporting two new ship-to-shore cranes bound for Philadelphia passes under the bridge. It is the second such vessel to travel up the river to deliver cranes for a Philadelphia port.
As a precaution and to reduce driver distraction, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, both northbound and southbound, will be temporarily closed to all traffic for about 30 minutes.
The temporary closure may take place sometime between 11:45 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. Tuesday night.
The distance from the water level to the top of the cranes aboard the Zhen is 188 feet, three inches. Due to tide levels and the Delaware Memorial Bridge’s clearance, the vessel must travel under the spans during low tide.
Both spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge will reopen to traffic once the ship clears the structures.
A third crane aboard the Zhen headed to Wilmington, N.C. Once the two new ship-to-shore cranes are off-loaded in Philadelphia, the remaining crane aboard the vessel – will make its way south on the Delaware River.
Delaware Memorial Bridge traffic will once again be temporarily interrupted for this passage, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, April 2 at approximately 5:15 a.m. A second motorist alert will be issued when the schedule is finalized.
