The Walt Whitman Bridge is a green-colored single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges on the east coast of the United States. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. Construction on the bridge began in 1953, and it opened to traffic on May 16, 1957. The bridge has a total length of 11981ft, and a main span of 610m. The bridge has seven lanes, three in each direction and a center lane that is shifted variably (via a zipper barrier) to accommodate heavy traffic.The bridge is a part of Interstate 76 (at milepost 351.98) (which, between the river and the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is known as the Schuylkill Expressway). Along with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Betsy Ross Bridge, Delaware Memorial Bridge, Commodore Barry Bridge, and the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of six expressway-standard bridges connecting the Philadelphia area with southern New Jersey.
