Historic $16M Market Street transformation begins in Old City. Expect traffic, parking restrictions through 2026.

Philadelphia officials broke ground Tuesday on a major overhaul of Market Street from Second to Sixth Streets, with the goal of making the historic thoroughfare a much easier place to walk, bike, and eat.

The goal is to complete work by the Semiquincentennial, or America’s 250th anniversary, in 2026.

Mike Carroll, the city’s deputy managing director for Transportation and Infrastructure, said at a ceremony Tuesday that while the true birthplace of America might be at Independence Hall, “in a significant way, it starts right here, too, at Second and Market. This is a place which has been a neighborhood for a really long time.”

Job Itzkowitz, executive director of Old City District, said the plan to reinvent Market Street began years ago, with a survey of businesses and residents in 2015 and a study in 2017 that showed the possibilities. He said studies show that as foot traffic increases, so do sales.

“Stakeholders said they wanted to walk, to bike and take public transit more in the neighborhood through and from Old City, and they wanted to drive less,” Itzkowitz said.

Plans for the Old City Market Street Improvement Project call for a pedestrian plaza referred to in plans as Tamanend Square to be built at Second and Market Streets as the centerpiece of the overhaul, which includes a “road diet” to accommodate new raised, protected bike lanes.

Officials also hope to move the existing statue depicting Chief Tamanend, now at Front and Market, to the new plaza in honor of the Lenni-Lenape, the Indigenous inhabitants of Philadelphia.

Bill Marrazzo, chair of the nonprofit Independence Historical Trust, said Tamanend Square would mark the city’s first space dedicated to Native Americans. He said that plans “aspire” to move the statue one block from its existing perch but that conversations are still ongoing with federally recognized Anadarko, Okla.-based Delaware Nation. Tamanend was a Lenape leader who signed a peace treaty with William Penn. The statue, by Raymond Sandoval, was erected in 1995.

“Many people often say Philadelphia is stuck, not just in its history, but in its most comfortable ways of doing the same thing over and over and over again, but today also marks a departure from those ways,” Marrazzo said.

Vehicle travel lanes will be reduced to one lane in each direction with dedicated left turn lanes at cross street intersections. Intersection bump outs and upgraded Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sidewalk ramps will be constructed along with new traffic signals.

The project is part of Vision2026, which calls for the transformation of Market Street in Old City by 2026. Independence Historical Trust, Independence National Historical Park, Old City District, and the city are all involved in the project.

However, the Market Street project in Old City is also part of a broader reimagining of Philly’s historical area that calls for more walkable and bike-friendly streets, new plazas, additional green spaces, and easier navigation to cultivate a sense of cohesiveness.

» READ MORE: More bikes and pedestrians, fewer cars: A $100M rethink of Philly’s historical district

That vision, led by Independence Historical Trust and other city-based organizations, would create better ways for tourists to navigate on foot through Independence National Historical Park, Old City, and other historic or local neighborhoods. Better “pathways” would let people know they are in an area branded as “historical Philadelphia.”

Planners see six locations as key to that vision: Tamanend Square, Dock Street, Commerce Street, Franklin Square, the WHYY/National Constitution Center area, and Market Street from Fifth to Third.

Tuesday’s groundbreaking was solely for the Old City Market Street Improvement Project from Second to Sixth and managed by the city’s Department of Streets and Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS). Deptford-based C. Abbonizio Contractors is doing the work.

During construction, lanes will be open to vehicles. But officials caution that motorists should expect delays, as well as parking restrictions and lane closures until construction is complete by summer of 2026.

Some work began in November, as C. Abbonizio began excavation and removal of existing brick pavers.

Officials say Market Street’s transformation will reduce traffic-related injuries and deaths by “rebalancing” travel lanes to better serve walkers, cyclists, transit users or motorists under the city’s Vision Zero. New traffic lights and signals will also be installed. And the concrete bump outs at bus stops will be lengthened to make boarding easier.

The raised bike lanes will be installed between parking lanes and sidewalks.

The project calls for the Tamanend Square at Second and Market to be curbless, allowing easier access for pedestrians.

The work is funded by city, state, and federal grants, as well as donations from Independence Historical Trust and Old City District.

“We look sometimes as our streets as passageways, but a lot of times they could be great, enjoyable spaces for gatherings,” Councilmember Mark Squilla said. “I’m really proud to be a part of this project.”