PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A long-term closure of the Chestnut Street Bridge over I-95 is slated to begin Jan. 15, as part of the massive $329 million project to build a new cap over the interstate.
The bridge is being demolished as the existing cap over the highway is demolished and a larger cap with a park spanning I-95 and Columbus Boulevard is built between Chestnut and Walnut Streets. The project is expected to take four to five years to complete.
Crews started tearing down the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge over Columbus Boulevard in November. Demolition of the sections of the Chestnut and Walnut bridges over I-95 is expected in February.
The work over the lanes of I-95 will likely require a weekend closure of the interstate, according to PennDOT spokesman Brad Rudolph. “We’re in early discussions right now. But it looks like it’s going to be a weekend closure for 95 northbound,” Rudolph told KYW Newsradio.
“That will happen sometime in February. So we’re looking at perhaps a Friday night to Monday morning closure of 95 north.”
When the bridge closes, Chestnut Street traffic will have to turn right onto southbound Front Street.
Seven SEPTA bus routes that use the bridge to loop around onto Market Street — including Routes 5, 17, 21, 33, 38, 42 and 44 — will also be detoured during the years of construction.
The Chestnut Street Bridge over I-95 was built in 1975, Rudolph said, and carries more than 1,600 vehicles a day.