Bridge Damage to Require Extended Lane Closure on Route 896 South

During the routine biennial inspection of the bridge carrying Route 896 over I-95, a crack was found in one beam that was caused by an oversized vehicle. As a result, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announces that the rightmost lane on the Route 896 southbound bridge over I-95 will remain closed indefinitely until a repair can be planned and completed. The bridge was last inspected in 2022, and the department has not determined when the damage occurred. While the beam has sustained damage, the bridge remains safe for vehicles to use and the lane closure removes vehicle weight above the damaged area as a precautionary measure.

"The bridge as a whole is structurally sound and safe to remain open to traffic in the temporary condition. Highway bridges using multi-beam systems, such as this one, are designed with a lot of redundancy so that an issue affecting the structural capacity of one beam does not affect the entire bridge as a whole," Jason Hastings, DelDOT's Chief of Bridges and Structures.

DelDOT will provide additional information once a schedule for the repair work is determined.

To report a traffic condition dial #77, and click on "report an issue" at deldot.gov or on the DelDOT mobile app. Download it for free in the app store.