Walt Whitman and Commodore Barry Bridges in Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia is known for many things. The city is often known for having a vibrant art scene, entertaining music scene, gourmet chefs with excellent fine dining options, successful athletic teams, breakthrough's in medicine with some of the best hospitals in the nation and of course...the city's significant historical importance.

One thing that you often don't associate with the city is the various commuter bridges that run through and around the city. If you're traveling through Philly, you'll most likely travel across one of these big bridges! Millions of people cross them every day!

Walt Whitman Bridge

The Walt Whitman Bridge is probably the most well-known big bridge in the city. It's a green-colored suspension bridge that crosses the mighty Delaware River. It takes commuters from Philadelphia to Gloucester in New Jersey. It was named after the famous poet Walt Whitman. Construction on this bridge began in 1953 and it was open for business & travelers in 1957.

It's a 7 lane suspension bridge that is always jam-packed with commuters. It's part of Interstate 76 and is often referred to as the Schuylkill Expressway. It's one of 6 expressway bridges that connects Philly to southern New Jersey. When traveling on the Walt Whitman Bridge, you'll pay a toll when crossing from the New Jersey side to the Philadelphia side. You will not be charged this toll when traveling from the Philly side to New Jersey. In other words, it's a one-way toll.

Commodore Barry Bridge

The Commodore Barry Bridge is a cantilever bridge that crosses the Delaware River from Chester Pennsylvania to Bridgeport in New Jersey. A lot of Pennsylvania residents who are traveling to a south Jersey Shore destination for vacation, will often travel this bridge so that they can avoid the Schuylkill Expressway. It was named after American Revolutionary War hero and Philadelphia resident John Barry.

It's a 5 lane bridge that is heavily traveled, but not as heavily traveled as the Schuylkill Expressway, at least in my opinion. This bridge opened up in 1974 and is a toll bridge just like the Walt Whitman bridge. When traveling from the New Jersey side to the Pennsylvania side, you'll be charged a $5.00 toll. When traveling from the Pennsylvania side to New Jersey, no toll is charged.

We travel both of these commuter bridges often when we are going back and forth to the Jersey Shore. We live in south central Pennsylvania and often travel down to Ocean City, Wildwood and Cape May in New Jersey. Out of both of the ones being featured here today, we prefer traveling on the Commodore Barry Bridge which is a little less stressful than traveling across the Walt Whitman Bridge which runs through downtown Philly. Just our 2 cents opinion on that!