$14 million project will connect the Schuylkill River Trail to Manayunk and Passyunk Ave.

Plans are being crafted with nearly $14 million in federal funds to build two key extensions that will connect the Schuylkill River Trail to Manayunk and Passyunk Avenue.

The proposed Wissahickon Gateway would give Schuylkill River Trail walkers, runners, and cyclists a way to circumvent the busy nexus of roads around Ridge Avenue and Main Street in Manayunk.

The proposed Passyunk Connection would allow users to connect from Gray’s Ferry Avenue to Passyunk Avenue on the west side of the river.

Both projects could take years to complete and are funded with a $13.7 million federal grant via the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Wissahickon Gateway Trail, with roughly $7.2 million from the grant, will create a 2,000-foot, off-road multiuse trail and bicycle-pedestrian bridge. Currently, trail users are forced onto a narrow shoulder and sidewalk that runs along the Main Street and Ridge Avenue corridor, according to the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS).

Officials say the area has a crash rate four times higher than the city’s average.

The current trail gap is next to I-76 on-ramp and the Wissahickon Transportation Center, a major bus depot under redevelopment. The depot provides service to 10 bus routes and serves over 7,000 riders every weekday.

So officials view the Wissahickon Gateway Trail as a way to provide a safe connection for cyclists, walkers, and runners. It will also give trail users easier access to Main Street in Manayunk and connect users to Wissahickon Valley Park.

City officials declined to comment further on the trail connection, saying there will be a presentation at a meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday at Venice Island Performing Arts Center.

The Passyunk Connection, with roughly $6.5 million from the grant, will extend the Schuylkill River Trail 4,500 feet south along the Schuylkill riverbank through a mostly commercial and industrial area.

Currently, the trail ends on the Bartram’s to 61st Street segment, according to OTIS. When complete, the new section will provide bicycle and pedestrian access to Passyunk Avenue, which connects commercial and residential neighborhoods from Southwest to South Philly.

Officials say the new trail connector will provide access to two “job centers” planned on either side of the river — the Lower Schuylkill Biotech Campus and the Bellwether District. When complete, the two commercial developments are estimated to need 23,000 workers.

The Passyunk Connection will directly link the surrounding communities to the developments.

“This will allow us to extend the existing Schuylkill River Trail in Southwest Philadelphia, which is now a dead-end trail,” said Joseph Syrnick, president of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Development Corp. “This will take that dead-end trail and turn it into a trail that actually connects with a major street.”

He said the trail will allow people to cross the Passyunk Avenue Bridge into the Bellwether District, the site of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019. Hilco Redevelopment Partners is developing the property, starting with several warehouses.

Being able to connect with the bridge and cross it is “important when you’re in a neighborhood that may not have high car ownership,” Syrnick said. “It also connects to a bunch of other neighborhoods down in Southwest Philadelphia and will allow those folks to get into Center City, where the theaters and restaurants are. And more important, where the jobs are.“

Syrnick said that the connector is still being designed and that the city needs to acquire rights of way, meaning it has to negotiate access. It’s possible construction bids could go out in 2026, followed by up to two years for the build. So the trail might not be open until late 2027 or early 2028.