Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Section of Schuylkill Expressway in South Philly will close for four weekends in a row starting Sept. 21

No planned Phillies games those weekends, but the Eagles game on Oct. 13 could be affected.

Traffic moves on eastbound I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway) near Exit 346B for Grays Ferry Avenue/University Avenue Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. PennDOT announced that they would be closing the eastbound section of the highway for four weekends in September and October to make repairs to the bridge decks carrying I-76 over the Schuylkill River, CSX rail tracks, Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street, and Reed Street. The closures (Sept 21 to 23; Sept. 27 to Sept. 30; Oct. 4 to Oct. 7; and Oct. 11 to Oct. 13) are weather permitting and being done around big weekend events at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.
Traffic moves on eastbound I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway) near Exit 346B for Grays Ferry Avenue/University Avenue Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. PennDOT announced that they would be closing the eastbound section of the highway for four weekends in September and October to make repairs to the bridge decks carrying I-76 over the Schuylkill River, CSX rail tracks, Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street, and Reed Street. The closures (Sept 21 to 23; Sept. 27 to Sept. 30; Oct. 4 to Oct. 7; and Oct. 11 to Oct. 13) are weather permitting and being done around big weekend events at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

The Schuylkill Expressway in South Philly is about to get a whole lot slower in late September and October when it closes for four weekends in a row to allow PennDot to make bridge deck repairs.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced the closures along sections of I-76 East in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Grays Ferry, which will begin on Sept. 21.

The four-weekend closure will allow PennDot crews to repair and resurface deteriorated concrete sections of the bridge that carries the Schuylkill Expressway over the Schuylkill and the CSX rail tracks, and the bridge structure over Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street, and Reed Street in Grays Ferry.

From 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, to 4 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, I-76 East will be closed from the Grays Ferry Avenue/University Avenue ramp, also known as Exit 346B, to just before the 34th Street on-ramp. All ramps to and from I-76 East will remain open during the closures.

That same section of highway will be closed the following three weekends:

  1. From 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, to 4 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30.

  2. From 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, to 4 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.

  3. From 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, to 6 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13.

The construction is managed by the City of Philadelphia, the South Philadelphia sports complex, SEPTA, and other regional transportation agencies.

Officials urge drivers to avoid the area if possible during the closures because “significant backups will occur” on closed sections of I-76 and the surrounding streets, PennDot said.

Check for road conditions and construction updates at 511PA.com or by following 511PA traffic alerts on X (formerly Twitter) at @511PAPhilly.

Detours for I-76 closure

Philly sports fans will rejoice knowing that the Phillies currently don’t have any scheduled home games during the closures; however, the Eagles game on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. will take place during the final weekend of closures.

Regional drivers should use I-676 East (the Vine Street Expressway) to I-95 South or take I-476 South to I-95 North to avoid the closures on I-76 in Grays Ferry.

Local traffic should exit I-76 at Exit 346B to Grays Ferry Avenue and take the University Avenue Bridge/34th Street to reenter I-76 East using the 34th Street on-ramp in Grays Ferry.