PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — You may want to start thinking about some alternate driving routes…
PennDOT plans to close the southbound lanes of I-95 between exits 22 and 20 from 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 26.
The closure will allow crews to demolish the remaining cap over the interstate between Walnut and Chestnut streets to make way for a 12-acre park over the highway.
PennDOT spokesman Brad Rudolph says drivers headed south on I-95 will have to exit at the Vine Expressway or to Callowhill Street. The posted detour takes drivers to the Morris Street on-ramp in South Philadelphia.
The ramp from the eastbound Vine Street Expressway (I-676) to south I-95 will be closed as well, so eastbound traffic on 676 will be directed to exit at 6th Street and use Race Street to get to south Columbus Boulevard to access the Morris Street on-ramp to I-95.
Rudolph expects the local streets to be jammed.
“The backups are going to be significant on all of these alternate routes – especially the local routes that use Callowhill Street, Delaware Avenue, Columbus Boulevard, Race Street and other surface streets to accommodate the extra traffic diverted from this closure,” Rudolph said.
The Market Street on-ramp southbound to I-95 shut down Monday as part of the work. It will reopen mid-March. Two other ramps — from I-676 east to I-95 south and the one from I-95 south to Columbus Boulevard/Washington Avenue will close Saturday.
The ramp from Lombard Circle northbound to I-95 will remain closed.
Rudolph says the southbound demolition will be more challenging because there’s less room to store debris on the neighborhood side of the interstate.
And making things more difficult — both the Sixers and Flyers have home games this weekend.
Old City resident Guillermo Bosch isn't looking forward to the extra traffic.
"Race has always been a very busy corridor because it's the entrance to I-95 north, it's the entrance to Columbus Boulevard," he said. "A lot of routes get shuttled onto Race Street, and so it's going to become even more of a madhouse — even if you don't appreciate the fact that there's a lot of construction going on right now."
"It's a mess. And it will continue to be a mess," Bosch added.