The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge reopened Thursday night after a cargo ship hits bridge shortly after 1 p.m., restoring vehicle and pedestrian traffic between Philadelphia and New Jersey. State Rep. Ed Neilson alerted followers on Facebook as the disruption unfolded, saying the bridge could not close while traffic was being affected.
David Levinsky, a spokesperson for Burlington County, said repairs were still underway when two lanes, one in each direction, reopened around 8:40 p.m. Burlington County had said the bridge was closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic because of an investigation into a potential collision involving a ship passing beneath the drawbridge.
Ed Neilson Facebook alert
Neilson wrote on Facebook that, "The bridge is unable to close at this time causing a disruption to traffic between Philadelphia and New Jersey." His post gave drivers and pedestrians the first public signal that the bridge had been hit while marine traffic was moving through the span.
The strike happened during a bridge opening for marine traffic. Burlington County said the bridge was hit by a passing ship and sustained minor damage.
Burlington County bridge response
The Burlington County Bridge Commission was investigating the extent of the damage and the cause of the accident while the bridge was reopening. That left the evening response split between two work streams: reopening part of the span for traffic and checking the structure for damage from the collision.
By Thursday night, the bridge had reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The cause of the accident had not been determined, and the reopened lanes came while repairs were still underway.
