Walt Whitman Bridge redecking begins

Truckers who use the Walt Whitman Bridge on I-76 to cross the Delaware River between Philadelphia and New Jersey will find it more challenging as work has begun on an extensive redecking project.

The project, which is part of $1 billion in planned capital improvements that the Delaware River Port Authority is planning, will leave one lane of the bridge closed through the summer of 2014.

The redecking of the bridge began late last month with a five-month closure of the right-hand eastbound lane. There will be successive one-lane closures as the three-year project proceeds.

The authority raised bridge tolls $1 and hiked train fares 10% beginning July 1 to help raise the $1 billion, according to a report in the Collingswood Patch.