PennDOT Opens New Free Library/Shakespeare Park Bridge over I-676 in Philadelphia

PennDOT Opens New Free Library/Shakespeare Park Bridge over I-676 in
Philadelphia

6/29/2017-KING OF PRUSSIA

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that the
new
pedestrian bridge over Interstate 676 between 20th Street and 19th Street
in
Philadelphia, commonly known as the Free Library Bridge or Shakespeare
Park,
opened to the public today.

In addition to replacing the pedestrian bridge linking Logan Square with
Vine
Street, PennDOT expanded Shakespeare Park by covering part of the
previously
opened area over I-676 at the west side of the park. The entire park has
been
hardscaped with paver blocks to create an amphitheater, and landscaped with
a
variety of trees and shrubs. Planter boxes and decorative street lights
line
the new sidewalks along Vine Street on the north side of Logan Square, new
park
benches were installed and the Shakespeare statue was cleaned and
refurbished.

PennDOT also reopened Winter Street today between 21st Street and the
Benjamin
Franklin Parkway following construction of a new intersection with the
eastbound outer lanes of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The contractor
realigned Winter Street along the side of the Franklin Institute to create
a
perpendicular intersection with the Parkway's outer lanes. This improvement

establishes a new plaza along the side of the Franklin Institute that has
been
hardscaped with paver blocks and landscaped with a variety of trees. Park
benches were also installed at the corner of Winter Street and the Parkway,
and
along the Parkway's outer drive between the Parkway and 21st Street.

Last week, PennDOT finished construction on the new pedestrian structure,
known
as the Family Court Bridge between 18th Street and 19th Street. The new
bridge,
which also opened to the public today, features a park-like setting, with
decorative paver block and exposed aggregate sidewalks winding through a
central area filled with planter boxes of flowers and grasses, decorative
street lighting, ornamental fencing, trees and polished granite park
benches
surrounding a large oval lawn. The refurbished Pennypacker Monument stands
at
the southern entrance to the bridge.

The work is part of PennDOT's $64.8 million project to replace seven
structurally deficient bridges over I-676 between 22nd Street and 18th
Street,
and to make landscaping and streetscape improvements above the expressway.

Three additional bridges over I-676 remain under construction, including
18th
Street, 21st Street and 22nd Street bridges. Construction on the entire
project
began in April 2015 and will finish in November 2018, a year ahead of
schedule.

Buckley & Company, Inc. of Philadelphia is the general contractor on the
project which is financed with 100 percent federal funds.

For more information on the I-676 project, visit www.bridgesover676.com.

For more information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those
made
possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department's Four and

Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov.

A list of weekly road restrictions and PennDOT maintenance operations in
the
five-county Philadelphia region is available by visiting the District 6
Traffic
Bulletin at www.penndot.gov/District6.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by
visiting
www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides
traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and
access
to more than 825 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT
information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the
department on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at
www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot.

To view a complete list of District 6 News Releases: Click
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