Traffic restrictions will be suspended on the Delaware Water Gap (I-80) Toll Bridge Rehabilitation Project 6 a.m. July 1 to 10 p.m. July 5 in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and travel delays over the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced today. A five-day lane-closure moratorium will be in effect at the crossing because traffic rates rise on the Friday before the holiday weekend and continue through the day immediately following the three-day weekend. Frank G. McCartney, the Commission?s executive director, said traffic rises significantly at the Delaware Water Gap toll plaza on holiday weekends due to increased numbers of New York City and northern New Jersey residents traveling to Pocono Mountain resort destinations and other points west. ?The suspension of project-related traffic restrictions should mitigate the number and length of traffic backups that could arise at this location,? said McCartney. The lane closure moratorium will end Tuesday night, when work activities for the rehabilitation project are scheduled to resume. The bridge?s left westbound lane is scheduled to be closed at the following dates and times next week: ? 10 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, to 5 a.m. Wednesday, July 6; ? 10 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, to 5 a.m. Thursday, July 7; ? 10 p.m. Thursday, July 7, to 5 a.m. Friday, July 8. Westbound traffic will be limited to a single travel lane during these closure periods. Eastbound travel will not be affected by the scheduled lane restrictions. The lane closures are subject to change due to weather, emergency or traffic-related considerations. Motorists are asked to reduce their speed and use caution when travelling through an active work zone. The traffic restrictions are associated with a multi-faceted rehabilitation of the toll bridge that includes bearing and deck joint replacement, cleaning and painting of the superstructure of the bridge, repairs to the bridge substructure, replacement of the bridge drainage and underbridge lighting, seal coating of the bridge deck and other elements. The bridge rehabilitation project is scheduled for substantial completion in November 2011. The project is part of a $1.2 billion Capital Improvement Program that is financed solely by tolls collected at the Commission?s seven toll bridges. The Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge carries I-80 across the Delaware River near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Commission and opened on December 16, 1953, the bridge is a dual roadway, multi-span, steel plate structure 2,465 feet in length. Additional information on the bridge rehabilitation project is available at www.drjtbc.org/watergaprehab.