Opponents of Planned New, Tolled Scudder Falls Bridge Gather For The Fight
By David Madden
EWING TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- There's a move afoot in Trenton to cancel the plans for construction of a new, tolled Scudder Falls bridge where I-95 crosses the Delaware River.
Some, including New Jersey state senator Michael Doherty (R-Hunterdon/Somerset/Warren), feel the proposed $330-million, privately funded project is simply unnecessary.
Doherty cites a 2010 engineer's report that said the current, free bridge is fine.
"This bridge is safe for all legal loads," he said. "So, according to this engineer's study, this bridge is good to go and there's no reason to take it down."
The Sierra Club opposes the new bridge on environmental grounds, and a New Jersey member of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which is responsible for the span, is unconvinced the project is warranted.
The opponents are asking Gov. Chris Christie, who is on record as supporting the project, to reconsider and do what he did to the ARC tunnel project in Newark (see related story): kill it.
The DRJTBC, in a statement, calls the Scudder Falls Bridge "functionally obsolete" and says these opponents seldom if ever use it, and are putting a political agenda ahead of public safety.
