Walt Whitman Bridge

Walt Whitman Bridge
Walt Whitman Bridge, connecting Gloucester City, New Jersey and Philadelphia
Coordinates39°54′19″N 75°07′47″W / 39.90528°N 75.12972°W / 39.90528; -75.12972
Carries7 lanes of I-76
CrossesDelaware River
LocalePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania to Gloucester City, New Jersey
Official nameWalt Whitman Bridge
Maintained byDelaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
ID number4500010
Characteristics
DesignSteel suspension bridge
Total length11,981 feet (3,652 m)
Width92 feet 2 inches (28.09 m)
Longest span2,000 feet (610 m)
Clearance below150 feet (46 m)
History
OpenedMay 16, 1957 (May 16, 1957)
Statistics
Daily traffic120,000
Toll$6.00 (westbound) (E-ZPass) No toll for eastbound vehicles going from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
Location

The Walt Whitman Bridge is a single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia in the west to Gloucester City in Camden County, New Jersey in the east. The bridge is named after American poet and essayist Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life.

Walt Whitman Bridge is 11,981 feet (3,652 m) in length, making it one of the larger bridges on the East Coast of the United States. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority.

The bridge is a part of Interstate 76, which, between the Delaware River and the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is known as the Schuylkill Expressway; this was originally part of Interstate 676's route until it switched positions with I-76 in 1972.

Along with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which carried I-76 until 1972, and has carried I-676 since, the Betsy Ross Bridge, Delaware Memorial Bridge, Commodore Barry Bridge, and Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of six expressway-standard bridges connecting the Philadelphia area with Southern New Jersey.