Fire under Walt Whitman Bridge in New Jersey disrupts morning

A fire on the Gloucester City waterfront left some commuters on the Walt Whitman Bridge in a panic Tuesday morning as plumes of black smoke rose to the lanes they were driving on, briefly jamming traffic.

Ava Graham, assistant brand manager at Audacy, the parent company of 94.1 WIP, got on the bridge around 9:30 a.m. to head to her office in Philly. At the time, she saw some smoke, but by the time she reached the middle of the bridge a couple of minutes later, Graham said, the smoke had tripled in size and was blowing onto the lanes of traffic. She contemplated turning around.

“I was just so scared it was going to blow up because I didn’t know what was happening,” she said, her mind immediately jumping to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed after a 95,000-ton cargo ship crashed into it, killing six.

The source of the smoke was an industrial crane at Gloucester City Terminal, according to NBC10.

Shortly before 10 a.m., the Delaware River Port Authority posted a travel alert on X, formerly Twitter, warning drivers of delays and reduced speeds. By 10:15 a.m., the agency said normal traffic patterns had resumed.

By noon, Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management said the fire had been placed under control but warned smoke may linger in the city. The city’s Health Department recommended that those sensitive to smoke stay indoors as much as possible and close all windows to keep out air pollution they might find irritating. If they must go outdoors, it was suggested they avoid exercise.