The Delaware Memorial Bridge had a milestone year in 2019.
The bridge set a new mark for traffic volume last year.
“The Delaware Memorial Bridge handled 18,288,314 vehicles in 2019,” said Jim Salmon - the public information officer for the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA). "And that eclipsed the previous record that was set in 2016 of 17,813,664.”
Salmon notes the Delaware Memorial Bridge also set other traffic records in 2019. The bridge experienced all-time record traffic in April and each month from June through December.
“We had our best single month for traffic numbers in August of this past year when 1,845,190 used the Delaware Memorial Bridge. And that broke a record that was set back in 2003,” said Salmon.
He adds the highest traffic for a single weekend - Friday through Sunday - was set August 16th through 18th when 211,685 vehicles crossed the Twin Spans.
Salmon attributes the records to several things.
“One is the improving economic climate - improving conditions as far as the economy goes. You had really good gasoline prices, which enables people to travel in their vehicles more readily. And you had really favorable weather conditions with the lack of tropical storms and winter storms,” said Salmon.
He says the DRBAis hopeful the trend continues into 2020.
