Representatives from PennDOT and the 95 Revive project were on hand at St. John Cantius Church Tuesday night providing an update to residents regarding what they can expect from the project going forward, which included details of an extension of Delaware Avenue northbound. According to the plans, Delaware Avenue, which currently ends at Orthodox Street, would be extended northbound and run along the river before eventually connecting to an on/off ramp at Delaware Avenue near the Dietz and Watson location in Wissinoming.
“When you come off 95 [southbound], you’ll be able to come all the way into [Bridesburg via Delaware Avenue] and take that all the way to Allegheny Avenue by the time they’re done with it,” said Tom Kerins, vice president and deputy manager of Urban Engineers during his presentation. “If you use that, you’re going to avoid the main line reconstruction in successive sections.”
State Rep. Joe Hohenstein, who attended the meeting, called the extension of Delaware Avenue his favorite part of the project.
“That’s going to go right along the river and give us one more way to make sure all those trucks and buses are getting out of our way on Richmond Street,” he said, noting that the extension would make things easier for trucks looking to get to Port Richmond’s industrial area on the waterfront. The project would also include extending Buckius Street to intersect with the extension of Delaware Avenue. An extension of Bridge Street would also be constructed to meet Delaware Avenue.
As exciting as the extension is, residents shouldn’t get too excited just yet. That project isn’t slated to start until 2022 and is projected to take about two years to complete.
Kerins also told those at the meeting that construction on Richmond Street from Allegheny Avenue to Westmoreland Street will be completed by spring. But as the Richmond Street construction ends, many more projects in addition to the Delaware Avenue extension will soon be starting in the River Wards area and beyond, all of which were detailed at the meeting. Details of these projects are listed below:
Widening and reconstruction of Aramingo Avenue in Bridesburg
According to the presentation, Aramingo Avenue from Church Street to Tacony Street in Bridesburg will be widened and reconstructed to improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities and traffic signals along Aramingo Avenue. This section of the project is slated to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027.
Widening and reconstruction of I-95
In 2020, both the northbound and southbound sections of I-95 between Carver Street and Levick Street will be widened to four lanes and reconstructed. The bridges over Comly and Van Kirk Streets will also be replaced. During this phase, parking, lighting and landscaping improvements will be made at Lardner’s Point Park. Construction is slated to end in 2022.
In a separate phase to start in 2022 is the widening of reconstruction of I-95 farther south from roughly Aramingo Avenue to roughly the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. As part of this project, the Bridge Street on ramp will be removed and replaced with on ramps at Tacony Street and Delaware Avenue as per the extension. Additionally, the James Street off ramp will be relocated farther north, connecting it to Tacony Street via a new underpass. Construction in this phase is slated to end in 2024.
Reconstruction of Aramingo Avenue and Frankford Creek Bridge
In this phase, a new connection via Adams Avenue between Torresdale Avenue and Aramingo Avenue will be constructed as well as a new connection to the Betsy Ross Bridge. A new shared-use path adjacent to Aramingo Avenue and Adams Avenue will also be constructed.
Back in 2017, construction was completed on the on/off ramps to I-95 near the Betsy Ross Bridge. In July of this year, the Girard on/off ramp to I-95 was closed for about two years’ worth of construction.
To view the entire presentation from Tuesday night, click here.
