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Market Street Bridge to close for 14 months amid massive rehab project

The $149 million reconstruction of the span that connects University City and Center City Philadelphia will take about four years to complete in total.

The Market Street Bridge, shown here reflected in the waters of the Schuylkill River, was erected 93 years ago and needs an overhaul. It's older than I-76, the expressway named for the river which was built in stages between 1949 and 1959.
The Market Street Bridge, shown here reflected in the waters of the Schuylkill River, was erected 93 years ago and needs an overhaul. It's older than I-76, the expressway named for the river which was built in stages between 1949 and 1959.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

Plan on traffic detours and delays on and around the Market Street Bridge over the next four years during a $149 million reconstruction of the span that connects University City and Center City Philadelphia.

Work begins this month on the 93-year-old structure — actually three bridge sections — that carries Philadelphia’s main east-west street over Amtrak tracks and sidings, the Schuylkill and Interstate 76, the sometime-parking lot named for the river.

PennDot also will add a two-way bike lane separated by concrete to Market Street, with a signal light for cyclists on the western end.

Motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians are going to have to adjust to a series of detours at various points during the project, including closure of a section of I-76 near Market Street that will direct drivers off the expressway and through city streets to get around work.

The bridge roadway itself will be closed to motor vehicles for 14 months beginning in August 2026.

PennDot says it will maintain two lanes for motor vehicle traffic on the bridge between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. during the project.

But any closures will be suspended between June 1 and Aug. 7 next year when hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected for the U.S. 250th celebration, FIFA World Cup matches, and the MLB All-Star game.

Early construction will focus on moving, replacing, and installation of a web of electric, gas, water, and fiber-optic utility lines in the Market Street bridge project area, PennDot said. Buckley & Co. Inc. of Philadelphia is the general contractor.

That utility work was scheduled to begin Monday but has been postponed until March 24, according to PennDot’s latest traffic bulletin for Philadelphia and its suburban Pennsylvania counties.

Once the main makeover starts, the bridge superstructure over the Amtrak train tracks and the Schuylkill Expressway will be partly demolished and replaced, then the decking and road surface of the span.

The federal government is paying 80% of the cost, with the state covering the rest.

Other elements of the project include:

  1. Resurfacing of the nearby Walnut Street Bridge between 22nd and 33rd Streets. A parking-separated bike lane will be installed on the bridge and traffic signals will be modified.

  2. Workers will complete an arch over the CSX freight railroad track at the Chestnut Street Bridge. A section of retaining wall that supports the riverbank will be repaired. The Chestnut Street Bridge reopened nearly three years ago after its superstructure and deck were refurbished.

  3. The Schuylkill River Trail will remain open under Market Street, but a section of trail under Chestnut Street will be closed at some point to allow reconstruction of the river wall. Users will have to exit and reenter the trail.