Bancroft Bridge reopened in Wilmington, connecting Alapocas Run State Park and the Northern Delaware Greenway Trail.
The Bridge reopened this month after Hurricane Ida floodwaters damaged the bridge beyond repair. The bridge hasn’t been in use since September 2021.
DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation Matt Ritter said project leaders decided against repairing the original 1909 structure because it wasn’t up to code.
“The decision was made to reconstruct or create a new bridge that took the support structure out of that floodplain completely and just replace it with a brand new bridge to connect the areas,” Ritter said.
A $2.7 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant and $800 thousand in state funds funded the replacement bridge.
Ritter added Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and then-Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester secured FEMA funding.
The bridge has historic significance to Wilmington, Ritter said, as people in Wilmington’s textile industry put it to use. Once that ended, the bridge became part of the state parks as a connector trail.
The new bridge project was far from easy, Ritter said.
“Whether it was low temperatures, which restrict what you can do from pouring concrete or a construction component of it, or in the spring, with heavy rains, there was work that had to be that had to occur within the creek,” Ritter said.
On top of that, construction on the nearly $4 million dollar project had to abide by restrictions that protect native plants and animals like copperhead snakes and bog turtles.
The project team also ran into issues locating rock to secure the bridge. The team adjusted the plans and dug deeper, which added to the delays.
“They all shrunk the construction windows to a pretty tight window that our team, again, did a great job balancing,” Ritter said. “Finally, was the actual removal of the bridge and the lowering of the new bridge.”
Construction teams carefully cut the old bridge in half and carefully removed the pieces before installing the new bridge in two pieces as well. A time lapse of the process can be found at this link.
The new bridge now sits above the floodplain to avoid flooding issues in the future.
