May 29, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Joe Donnelly (267) 790-1010 or Pete Peterson (215) 893-4297

MILFORD, PA - The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today urged bicyclists and hikers to utilize their cell phones to call ahead for a free van shuttle service the agency is providing to ensure safe travel across the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge while it is undergoing substantial rehabilitation this summer. The shuttle service is operating seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bicyclists and pedestrians are urged to dial 570-296-8582 as they approach the bridge, which crosses the Delaware River between Pike County, Pa. and Sussex County, N.J. The phone number, which also is displayed on message boards along roadways immediately leading to the bridge, is answered by Commission personnel who dispatch the shuttle driver to the waiting station on either side of the bridge where bicyclists and pedestrians are to be picked up.

Reservations are not permitted for the van service, but the Commission is making every effort to provide timely service when a call is made for the shuttle service. To speed the process, bicyclists and hikers are urged to call 570-296-8582 shortly before they expect to arrive at one of the Commission-designated safe areas where bicyclists and pedestrians can congregate and wait for shuttle transportation on both sides of the bridge.

The new shuttle service began operations on May 22 and currently is expected to continue until sometime in September. The service was initiated because construction activities that began at the bridge in February forced the Commission to suspend public access to the bridge's walkway -- where bicycles are normally allowed to be walked across the bridge - because it was part of an active work zone.

The shuttle service consists of a 12-person van equipped with a bicycle rack. Riders are required to sign a waiver to take advantage of the service.

In the first 5 days of operation there were a total of 14 trips transporting a total of 24 bikers. There were no hikers.

Frank G. McCartney, the Commission's Executive Director, credited Michael Adsit of Milford, Pa. with presenting Commission staff with a workable shuttle-service concept in early April. Mr. Adsit took up competitive bicycle racing soon after finishing chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The Milford -Montague rehabilitation project is projected to cost $19.1 million and take until Memorial Day 2009 to reach substantial completion. The Commission's contractor is replacing the bridge's precast concrete deck panels, replacing deteriorated supporting stringers and blast-cleaning and painting the entire steel superstructure. The Pennsylvania and New Jersey approaches and shoulders will be repaired and or replaced and additional signage will be installed on the approaches. The existing toll plaza also will be replaced with two new booths and a dedicated E-ZPass lane.

The Milford-Montague Toll Bridge is the northern-most bridge crossing the Delaware River under the Commission's jurisdiction. Located seven miles south of the New Jersey/New York state line, the bridge connects U.S. Route 206 at Montague, N.J. to U.S. Routes 6 and 209 at Milford, Pa. The bridge's average daily traffic was 8,400 vehicles in 2007.

About the Commission

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission was formed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey in 1934. It operates seven toll bridges and 13 toll-supported bridges, two of which are pedestrian-only spans. The Commission's jurisdiction extends along the Delaware River from the Philadelphia-Bucks County line north to the New Jersey/New York border. The bridges carry more than 135 million cars and trucks each year. For more information about the Commission and its various initiatives to deliver safer and more convenient bridge travel for its customers, please see: www.drjtbc.org.

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