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Cargo ship strikes bridge between New Jersey, Philadelphia
Traffic was disrupted; bridge reopens as Coast Guard investigates
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, on Nov. 12. (Chris Szagola/AP)
Key Takeaways:
- A cargo ship struck the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge across the Delaware River Nov. 12, disrupting traffic between Philadelphia and Palmyra, N.J.
- The 3,659-foot bridge carries up to 76,200 vehicles daily and reopened that evening with a lane closure, authorities said.
- The Coast Guard said the 591-foot Strategic Alliance was moored at a Bristol, Pa., facility, where an inspection team was on site.
PHILADELPHIA — A cargo ship struck a bridge across the Delaware River on Nov. 12, disrupting traffic between Palmyra, N.J., and Philadelphia, according to a Pennsylvania lawmaker.
The incident left the 3,659-foot-long Tacony-Palmyra Bridge unable to close, causing a major backup on the Philadelphia side, state Rep. Ed Neilson said in a news release. No injuries have been reported, he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the cargo vessel is currently moored at a Kinder Morgan facility in Bristol, Pa., where an inspection team is on site. The Coast Guard identified the vessel as the 591-foot Strategic Alliance, which was built in 2013 and sails under the flag of Singapore.
The drawbridge was open for ships to pass through at the time of the collision around 1:15 p.m., according to the Coast Guard. It remained open afterward because another vessel needed to pass through, and has since come back down. The bridge reopened to traffic with a lane closure in the evening, the Burlington County (New Jersey) Bridge Commission Police Department said.
The steel bridge carries vehicles along Route 73 between Palmyra and the Tacony neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. It has three lanes of vehicular traffic, two into Philadelphia and one into New Jersey. Estimates from 2025 show the bridge can carry as many as 76,200 vehicles each day.
Opened in 1929, the Tacony-Palmyra toll bridge was found to be in “fair” condition, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2026 National Bridge Inventory data released this fall.
Singapore-Registered Bulk Carrier Strikes US Bridge, Disrupts Traffic https://t.co/apcmaKuaG4 The bulk carrier STRATEGIC ALLIANCE hit Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, causing traffic chaos. No major injuries or pollution reported. #MaritimeNews #TrafficAlert #SingaporeCarrier https://t.co/SJFJDx0pUu
— Maritime Reporter (@ShipNews) November 13, 2026
Inspectors rated the deck of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge as in good condition, the substructure as in fair condition and the superstructure — the component that absorbs the live traffic load — as fair.
Associated Press journalists Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, N.M., contributed.
