PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials have asked residents to help decide which of three designs should be used to cover the Vine Street Expressway through Chinatown.
The project, known as the Chinatown Stitch, is meant to reconnect two parts of Chinatown that were separated when the expressway was built in 1991.
“There’s been about 20 years of talk about trying to address some of the ongoing harm that the Vine Street Expressway causes to the surrounding community,” said Chris Pulchalsky, policy director for the Office of Transportation Infrastructure and Sustainability.
But in February, the city received a federal grant that helped develop three potential plans. One would put a cap over the expressway between 10th and 11th streets, and 12th and 13th streets, but leave a portion of the 1100 block uncovered for ventilation. That’s called the two-and-a-half block concept.
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The two other plans would cover all three blocks continuously, but infrastructure co-ordinator Megan Clarkin says the cap then would become, officially to PennDOT, a tunnel. “Here’s where we’re going to see an exponential increase in the construction duration, impact and costs,” she said.
“Ventilation, fireproofing, monitoring cameras, higher degrees of fire suppression, redundant escape routes,” detailed Puchalsky, “so these things all add up to high costs.”
Officials estimate the cost for the more expensive plans would exceed $400 million. The longest and most expensive plan would move the westbound lanes of surface Vine Street so they actually cross the cap. The advantage is that it provides direct access to the rail park on 12th Street.
Residents can get more information at the first of three community meetings on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the 10th Street Plaza in Chinatown. Voting is being conducted online through October 6. You can find the survey in both English and Chinese.