The Cape May–Lewes Ferry provides an alternate route between travelers from New Jersey and the Northeastern states to southern Delaware.

[2] The largest single day of traffic had 79,488 private and commercial vehicles cross the bridge one-way on November 29, 2009.

As commercial pressures mounted, a ferry service began, as an interim measure, to run in 1926, near the bridge's current location.

As traffic by cars and truck increased rapidly, the benefits of a bridge in this area became evident, and its construction was authorized by the highway departments of Delaware and New Jersey in 1945.

The bridge quickly proved a popular travel route when the New Jersey Turnpike connection was completed at its north end.

Crossover lanes on each side of the bridge can allow two-way traffic on one span if the other must be closed for an extensive period of time.

The Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) began a $13 million project in 2003 to resurface the bridge, refurbish the expansion joints, upgrade the electrical system, and replace the elevators in the four towers.

In 2022 the DRBA began a project to apply ultra-high performance concrete to the driving surface of the eastbound span (i.e., northbound Interstate 295).

The $93 million ship collision protection system project consists of the installation of eight stone-filled dolphins, each measuring 80 feet (24 m) in diameter.

Four cells are being installed at the piers supporting both eastern and western towers and will be located a minimum of 443 feet (135 m) from the edge of the Delaware River's 800-foot-wide (240 m) channel.

[10] The DRBA has originally proposed to raise the toll from $4.00 to $5.00 on March 1, 2019,[11] however New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy vetoed this plan on January 3, 2019.

[12] In February, the DRBA and the governors of Delaware and New Jersey reached an agreement which postponed the toll hike to May 1, as well as providing a 25 cent E-ZPass discount for passenger vehicles.

As a result, the DRBA Police offers an "acrophobia support" service whereby a motorist can call ahead to arrange for an officer to drive them over the bridge.