New Northeast Philly connector trail being built at base of Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

A new half-mile long paved trail connector being built at the base of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge might seem short in length but will help fill a critical gap toward completion of a much longer trail in Northeast Philly with an expansive view of the river for residents who had long been cut off from it, say officials.

The 12-foot-wide, $2.2 million multipurpose connector will run through four waterfront industrial properties from Magee Avenue just north of Lardner’s Point Park to the Tacony Boat Launch at Princeton Avenue. An additional one-quarter mile length connector will also be built a bit father north at the former St. Vincent’s orphanage.

The two new connectors, set to open by summer or fall 2023, will become part of the 11-mile K&T trail, which starts at Pulaski Park in Port Richmond and is planned to terminate at historic Glen Foerd mansion on the Delaware River in Torresdale. The K&T will include the much anticipated 10-acre riverfront park planned in Bridesburg, which has received $6 million to start its first phase but is not yet under construction.

» READ MORE: Construction of 10-acre waterfront park in Bridesburg set to move forward

Ultimately, the K&T will link to the south with Center City, through to South Philadelphia, in a separate waterfront trail overseen by the Delaware River Waterfront Corp.

Segments of the K&T, which generally follows the old Kensington & Tacony rail line, began opening in 2017. State and city officials held a groundbreaking for the newest connector Monday at Lardner’s Point, along with the nonprofit Riverfront North Partnership.

Stephanie Phillips, executive director of the Riverfront North Partnership, called the connector and K&T part of the “revitalization of the northern Delaware River for public recreation access.” The partnership supports the trail and network of parks along the river.

Phillips called access to the river “a huge barrier for our communities because of vacant brownfields and transportation corridors.”

The Riverfront North Partnership is working on the K&T trail in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, other government agencies and various nonprofits. Phillips said the K&T was first planned in 2004, but building it has been difficult because it involves multiple agencies and requires obtaining rights-of-way through the mostly industrial private landscape of the waterfront.

“It might only be a little bit over a half a mile,” Phillips said of one of the two new connectors. “But it connects three Philadelphia public parks. And it’s one of the last three trail gaps in the Riverfront North Greenway … the city has really championed this stretch for us.”

That connector runs through four industrial properties over weed-choked, ungraded land.

The additional one-quarter mile connector will be built by Link Logistics Real Estate where the waterfront passes through its property at the location of the former St. Vincent’s orphanage. Liz Gabor, a vice president of Link Logistics, said the company is donating nine acres to the city for use as part of the trail.

For the newest connector close to the bridge, crews will have to clear and grade the area, lay asphalt and install native plants, benches and trash cans.

But the K&T still has other gaps that need to be closed. PennDot is completing work on one of the other two remaining gaps along Delaware Avenue between the Bridesburg neighborhood and Frankford boat launch.

And the third gap spans from where Link Logistics’ property ends at St. Vincent’s to the Pennypack on the Delaware Park along State Road in Holmesburg. U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia) said at the groundbreaking that $2.5 million in federal funding will go toward closing that gap. However, an additional $3.5 million is needed.

Officials hope the K&T will be complete by 2028. When finished, it will become part of the much larger Circuit Trails, an effort to eventually connect 800 miles of trails through nine counties, including into South Jersey.