A large cargo ship slammed into the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge sometime before 3 p.m. Thursday, jamming the span open and unable to close, which triggered major traffic delays between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. No injuries were reported, but officials said the cause of the crash and how long the disruption will last remain unclear.
Bridge Stuck Open, Delays Mount on Philadelphia Side
Pennsylvania state Rep. Ed Neilson said officials were unable to close the bridge after the collision, causing major delays on the Philadelphia-bound side, according to fox29.com. Neilson strongly encouraged motorists planning to travel into New Jersey to seek an alternate route and consider using another bridge, per the same report. He confirmed that no injuries had been reported from the strike.
Separately, 6abc.com reported that officials said an investigation into the apparent boat strike began around 3 p.m. Thursday in Palmyra, New Jersey. Crews were still assessing the situation as of that report, and there was no timeline given for when the bridge would reopen.
What Caused the Crash Remains Unknown
It is not yet clear what caused the crash or how long traffic is expected to be impacted, the fox29.com report noted. Drivers crossing between the two states were urged to use alternate routes, and other bridges linking New Jersey and Pennsylvania are expected to see heavier congestion as a result, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. No completion time has been announced for any repairs the bridge may need.
A Repeat Offender for Ship Strikes
Thursday's crash is not the first time the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge has been struck by a vessel. In April 2018, a ship hit the bridge while it was open, closing the Delaware River span for more than five hours, according to nj.com. Engineers who inspected the bridge after that incident determined it wasn't structurally damaged, finding that only the railings of its pedestrian walkways had sustained damage.
The bridge has also faced lengthy closures unrelated to vessel strikes. It was shut for 11 hours in 2013 after getting stuck open overnight following a routine opening for a passing ship, as buckscountycouriertimes.com reported at the time. Preliminary findings in that case pointed to a seized roller beneath the maintenance walkway that jammed a plate and stopped the bridge from moving. A separate mechanical problem forced a seven-hour closure in 2009, and the bridge ceased operating for a full month in December 1988 after a floating crane boom struck part of its arch span, the same outlet reported.
Vessel Strikes Are a Nationwide Problem
Bridge strikes by vessels are far from rare across the country. An analysis of U.S. Coast Guard maritime incident records found that a vessel has run into part of a bridge in America at least 650 times since 2019, according to wptv.com. A 2025 research effort mined 16 years of Coast Guard data to estimate the actual odds that large ships would strike the nation's most significant bridges, according to engineering.jhu.edu.
In a recent, separate alert unrelated to Thursday's crash, the Coast Guard described a case in which a vessel struck a bridge despite voyage-planning calculations indicating sufficient clearance, with documents used to calculate air draft failing to account for an installed antenna extending above the ship's reported highest point, according to marinelink.com. The Coast Guard has recommended that shipowners verify vessel air draft, keep current ship-specific drawings, and confirm that antennas and other adjustable structures are properly lowered or secured before transits involving overhead clearance.
No determination has been made about what caused Thursday's collision at the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, and officials have not said whether weather played any role. With crews still assessing the span and no reopening timeline announced, drivers in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area should expect delays to continue into the evening commute.
