PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Vine Street Expressway is still closed as crews have been working non-stop to pump out all the water brought on when the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused record flooding on the Schuylkill River.
In the meantime, this stretch of I-676 has become Philly’s latest attraction. Since Thursday, people have been coming to the 22nd Street overpass to get a close look and a selfie with what has become the Vine Street Canal.
"I mean, this is historic, and it's memorable. I just can’t believe it, I’m still in shock," said Karissa Russell, who walked down what is normally the ramp at 22nd Street to get from the expressway to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
"Come down and see it. This isn’t gonna happen for another 100 years!" Russell said.
And yes, she did see the video of people getting into the brown, filthy water yesterday.
"Yeah, I’m a nurse," she said. "Not gonna do that. But thanks for keeping me in a job! I mean, it’s Philly though. I was waiting for it. It was gonna happen sooner than later."
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Gary Evans from West Philly was among those taking pictures and video. He knows this stretch of I-676 all too well.
"I used to work on this expressway. We did construction work, building this. And I can’t believe seeing this. This is unbelievable. I never, ever thought I would see something like this in my lifetime," he said.
The water level has gone down from its peak Thursday morning, but there are several more feet to go. PennDOT says crews have been running seven pumps overnight Thursday and into Friday morning, sucking up the water from the Vine and pushing it back out into the Schuylkill River.
PennDOT spokewman Brad Rudolph says there is another pump on the way, and they are trying to get more hoses, on site to speed up the process.
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It is not clear how long it will take to get the job done, but there is a lot of cleanup to do still. Because below all that water is a whole lot of muck.
A failing pump station near the overpass is being blamed for the severe flooding.
"We now have a portion of the pump station door above water," Rudolph said. "Hopefully cleanup can begin this afternoon when the water is gone. I wouldn’t promise that we can reopen today, but we will try."
Some other roads in the city have fared better. Lincoln Drive has been reopened in both direction. And all weather-related closures on Ridge Avenue have been reopened.
However, MLK Drive is closed in both directions from Falls Bridge to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And Kelly Dive is closed in both directions from Lincoln Drive to Sedgley Avenue.
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