Major commuter bridges to be shut down when historic ocean liner is towed out of Philadelphia dock

The historic ship docked in Philadelphia destined to become the world’s largest artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico is leaving the city late next week, its departure resulting in the temporary closure of three major bridges between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
On Nov. 15, for the first in 30 years, the SS United States will travel the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean beginning a roughly two week journey to Mobile, Alabama. Once there, it will be prepared to be scuttled.
Okaloosa County, Florida, last month purchased the ship to repurpose it as an artificial reef, making it an addition to the panhandle’s seabed to grow the area’s diving tourism.
Workers will swing the ship from its current mooring at Pier 82 in Philadelphia to Pier 80 on Nov. 14, where it will stay there overnight until low tide the following day, which is forecast for 6:59 a.m. The Walt Whitman and Commodore Barry bridges will be closed as the ship is towed out to sea, Okaloosa County officials announced Wednesday.
The bridges between Philadelphia and South Jersey are managed by the Delaware River Port Authority. The ship will lastly pass under the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but traffic isn’t expected to be halted, said a spokesperson for the Delaware River Bay Authority, which manages the structure.
It was unclear if the closures would be done simultaneously or once the ship reaches each bridge.
The departure plan is subject to change, officials said, and those interested in tracking the ship’s progress can do so online.
Engineers note they have to move the vessel at low tide to allow it to pass under the three bridges. The ship’s route along the Delaware takes it through busy shipping lanes. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry also runs daily crossings between Lower Cape May and Delaware. Trips won’t be altered to accommodate the SS United States, a spokesperson for the Delaware River Bay Authority, which manages the ferry line, said.
The United States, branded “America’s Flagship” during her run on the now-defunct United States Lines, has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996. Members of the SS United States Conservancy, a nonprofit that’s been the ship’s guardian since 2011, and Florida officials last month gathered on board the ship last month to formally approve its sale.
Officials expect the ship to spend about a year at the Alabama dock to prepare it for becoming an artificial reef.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at [email protected].