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Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and its namesake bridge are expected to reopen this year

The drive popular with cyclists is expected to fully reopen once work on its namesake bridge behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art is done.

People out riding their bikes and running along the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
People out riding their bikes and running along the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, March 30, 2024.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will fully reopen once work on its namesake bridge behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art is completed, likely by September, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said in her second budget address Thursday.

The bridge has been under reconstruction since 2023 and was previously expected to be completed this summer. The 690-foot structure, built in 1966, connects Eakins Oval to MLK Drive.

The bridge, which was being refurbished to ensure it could safely carry vehicles, was funded in part with federal money. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg allocated $1.6 billion, of $27.5 billion in federal aid for states with aging bridges, to Pennsylvania.