Cargo Ship Hits Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, Shutting Delaware River Span

A cargo ship struck the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River on Thursday, leaving the span unable to close and disrupting traffic between Palmyra, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, according to ABC News. State Rep. Ed Neilson, a Pennsylvania lawmaker, said in a news release that the collision caused a major backup on the Philadelphia side.

Neilson said no injuries have been reported. The bridge is closed to vehicles and pedestrians until further notice.

What the owner says about the closure

The Burlington County Bridge Commission owns, operates and maintains the bridge. Nobody answered the phone at the commission on Thursday afternoon, ABC News reported. A recorded message said the bridge is closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic and that an update would be provided in time for evening rush hour. The extent of any damage to the bridge has not been disclosed.

How the bridge is used

The steel Tacony-Palmyra Bridge carries Route 73 between Palmyra and the Tacony neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. It is 3,659 feet (1,115 meters) long and has three lanes for vehicles: two heading into Philadelphia and one heading into New Jersey. Estimates from 2025 show it can carry as many as 76,200 vehicles each day.

The bridge opened in 1929 and charges a toll.

Condition before the collision

The Federal Highway Administration rated the bridge as being in fair condition in its 2026 National Bridge Inventory data, released this fall. Inspectors judged the deck to be in good condition. They rated the substructure as fair. The superstructure, the part of the bridge that absorbs the weight of moving traffic, was also rated fair.

These ratings come from inspections made before Thursday’s collision and say nothing about the effect of the strike.

What this means for travelers

Anyone who normally crosses the Delaware River on Route 73 between Palmyra and Tacony faces a closure with no reopening time announced. The only timing given so far is the commission’s promise of an update before evening rush hour, delivered through its recorded phone message. Vehicles and pedestrians are both barred from the span.

The reported backup on the Philadelphia side shows how heavily the crossing is used, given that estimates put its daily capacity at as many as 76,200 vehicles.

Source: ABC News