It was originally planned to be named as the "Delair Bridge", after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now used by Conrail Shared Assets Operations and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line (both bridges NJ terminus are in the Pennsauken neighborhood of Delair), but was instead later named for Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and reputed creator of the first American flag in 1776.

The problems, including traffic and especially heavy trucks, were also related to the highway route's planned extension to the northwest from the Delaware River, across Northeast Philadelphia to connect with the Roosevelt Expressway.

The cancellation of this extension, the planned Pennsylvania Route 90, known as the Pulaski Expressway, resulted in the so-called "Evel Knievel" ghost ramps with unfinished bridges and flyover ramps, some of which were later constructed to serve nearby Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia's Bridesburg section.

The route serves as a high-level multi-lane with six lanes, separated by a concrete median barrier, bypassing the three-lane Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, which has a drawbridge on the span.

When approaching the exits from I-95 in Philadelphia for the bridge, drivers see signs referring to NJ Route 90.

[9] With related improvements to Interstate 95 through Northeastern Philadelphia county,[10] the Betsy Ross Bridge Interchange Project (Exit 26) was initiated in March 2015 [11] to replace the decking on the ramps on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge and complete the access ramps to Aramingo Avenue.