Wolf Administration, City of Philadelphia Celebrate New Pedestrian Bridges Spanning Interstate 676

Wolf Administration, City of Philadelphia Celebrate New Pedestrian Bridges
Spanning Interstate 676

7/20/2017-PHILADELPHIA

On behalf of Governor Tom Wolf, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards joined

Mayor James Kenney and other elected officials at Shakespeare Park in
Philadelphia today to celebrate the recent opening of two new pedestrian
bridges over Interstate 676, marking the completion of four of the seven
bridges PennDOT is replacing over the expressway in Center City.

"This transformative project not only secures critical parts of our
infrastructure with the replacement of seven structurally deficient
bridges,
but it also creates beautifully-imagined and well-integrated open spaces
that
people will treasure and enjoy for generations to come," Richards said.

On June 29, PennDOT reopened the pedestrian bridge commonly known as the
Free
Library Bridge or Shakespeare Park over I-676 between 20th and 19th
streets. In
addition to replacing the pedestrian structure 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.

The new pedestrian structure, known as the Family Court Bridge between 18th

Street and 19th Street, also reopened on June 29. The new bridge features a

park-like setting, with decorative paver blocks and exposed aggregate
sidewalks
winding through a central area filled with planter boxes of flowers and
grasses, decorative street lighting, ornamental fencing, trees and granite
park
benches surrounding a large oval lawn. The refurbished Pennypacker Monument

stands at the southern entrance to the bridge.

In addition to reopening the two pedestrian bridges, PennDOT completed work
on
Winter Street last month 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.

Three additional bridges over I-676 remain under construction, including
18th
Street, 21st Street and 22nd Street. 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
$65.4
million 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
http://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-6/Pages/allnews.aspx

To unsubscribe click
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/districts/district6/d6media.nsf/unsubscribeform?OpenForm