Philly’s other big I-95 project to start: A cap with an 11.5-acre waterfront park, South St. pedestrian bridge

Philadelphians need a bit of good news this week about I-95.

Maybe this is it.

Officials were set for a ceremonial ground-breaking Thursday on a long-awaited, two-pronged project: A cap over the interstate for an 11.5-acre park that will connect people directly to the waterfront between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, as well as a new pedestrian and bike bridge connecting South Street to the waterfront.

The event has been postponed following the collapse Sunday of a portion of I-95 about 10 miles north after a truck fire. But construction for the park cap and bridge can move ahead given that plans don’t call for immediate disruption of the major East Coast roadway.

The collapse will not impact scheduled work, said Brad Rudolph, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The city envisions a park that will become a central feature of the Delaware River waterfront as a place for festivals and live performances.

A few months ago, the project’s general contractor, Buckley & Co. Inc. of Philadelphia, started performing or directing electrical work and routing utilities in preparation for major demolition and construction expected to start this month. Founded in 1928, Buckley & Co. is a major regional construction firm. It was selected this week to rebuild I-95 at the site of the bridge collapse.

The $328.9 million I-95 Central Access Philadelphia (CAP) project, conceived more than a decade ago, is expected to take four to six years to complete and includes a new bridge connecting South Street to the waterfront. The bridge will allow people to walk or bike over both I-95 and Columbus Boulevard and onto the Delaware River Trail, which runs from the southern to northern ends of the waterfront in the city from South Philadelphia to Penn Treaty Park with plans to extend it farther north.

The first of the large-scale construction includes demolition of existing structures and start of work on the new South Street Bridge, said Joe Forkin, chief operating officer of the Delaware River Waterfront Corp., a nonprofit that helps the city design, develop, and manage the central Delaware River waterfront between Oregon and Allegheny Avenues.

“This is literally a transformation project for the city, the waterfront, and the region,” Forkin said. “It will reconnect the city at the most difficult part of the waterfront. At this section, there’s just the wall of I-95. We’re going to cure that which was unfortunately done in the ‘60s and ‘70s. I think the amount of private development that this leverages will become massive.”

The DRWC is one of the partners in the complex project, along with the Federal Highway Administration and PennDot. The city will own the park.

Plans for the park call for gardens, a cafe, large timber pavilion, and amphitheater. The Independence Blue Cross RiverRink now at Penn’s Landing would be dismantled and relocated to the park.

The park will also have open space, “a play area,” and cafe. It will include a “contemplative setting” for the existing Irish and Scottish Memorials, currently at the southeast corner of Front and Chestnut Streets. The memorials would be relocated a block south to the new cap at Front and Walnut.

Forkin said work has begun on digging trenches for utilities, including a new water line and relocating electric.

When work ramps up on the cap, which includes setting beams into place to support the cap, contractors will close sections of the highway overnight during the work week, but not weekends. Detours will be put in place 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“They will not affect the morning daily commute,” Forkin said. “We’re not going to do any wholesale shutdowns. We want people to be able to traverse the area and of course get to the waterfront.”

Major work includes demolition of bridges at Chestnut and Walnut Streets, the existing cap over I-95, and the Great Plaza. Crews then have to build the cap over both I-95 and Columbus Boulevard and add fill to the Delaware River for landscaping. They then have to construct the buildings, amenities, and add landscaping. Officials say local businesses will remain accessible throughout.

Noise and vibration will be monitored so as to not exceed acceptable levels. SEPTA’s Route 25 bus will be impacted during the overnight hours. Pedestrians will still be able to access the waterfront via Dock Street and Market Street.

A new bridge at South Street will rise over Columbus Boulevard to connect cyclists and pedestrians to the newly completed Delaware River Trail.

The trail runs along Philadelphia’s central Delaware River waterfront and would connect to the new park, as well as the existing Spruce Street Harbor Park, Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest and Winterfest area, and Cherry Street Pier. Currently, the trail runs 3.3 miles from Pier 70 in South Philadelphia to Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown, including interim trail segments between Tasker Street and Washington Avenue. There are plans to connect it with the K&T Trail, which is expected to ultimately terminate at historic Glen Foerd mansion in Torresdale.

» READ MORE: New Northeast Philly connector trail being built at base of Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

The bridge would cross over I-95, run diagonally across Columbus Boulevard, and end on the waterfront next to the Chart House restaurant.

Forkin said work on the South Street pedestrian bridge would occur at the same time as work on the park.

“They have already started some work on the South Street bridge,” Forkin said, “and they’re already rerouting some utilities over on the cap project at Walnut Street.”

Follow the plans, construction updates, and detours online at www.95revive.com and ParkatPennsLanding.com.

Staff Writer Ryan Briggs contributed to this article.