I-95 North in Philadelphia expected to reopen as planned Monday morning

All four lanes of northbound I-95 in Center City near Penns Landing are expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, a spokesperson for PennDot said Sunday. The roadway, which has been closed since Saturday night, will reopen as planned between the exits for Columbus Boulevard (Exit 20) and I-676 (Exit 22), PennDot spokesperson Brad Rudolph said.

The closure allowed crews to do demolition work as part of a capping project to create a new park at Penn’s Landing.

“We’re in the clean-up process now, getting rid of debris and we’re still on track for 5 a.m. Monday at the latest,” Rudolph said. “We got all the pieces ... out of the way and it took less time than expected.”

Rudolph said crews worked so quickly to pull down the Walnut and Chestnut Street pedestrian bridges and do other demolition on the roadway, that there’s no need to schedule a second I-95 North closure, as was expected. Two closures for construction on I-95 South still need to be scheduled. No dates have been announced, but PennDot said they would occur on weekends over the next few months.

Three of four previously closed on-ramps will also reopen Monday morning, he said. The ramp to northbound I-95 from Lombard Circle at Columbus Boulevard will remain closed to allow crews to clear equipment being stored there, Rudolph said.

The closure is part of a $329 million project to create a nearly 12-acre park at Penn’s Landing over I-95. The weekend work focused on the partial demolition of the existing concrete covering over I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.

The park project is expected to be completed in the next four to six years. Once finished, the Park at Penn’s Landing will cover about four acres over I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut. Seven more acres will slope down to the waterfront from Columbus Boulevard, with planned amenities including gardens, a cafe, a large pavilion, and an amphitheater.