Thousands of Philadelphians out of a Bridge for Two Years

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23,000 cars will now be displaced onto the University of Pennsylvania’s campus and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Philadelphia’s South Street Bridge carried its last passenger on Monday morning, at least for the next two years. The decrepit structure, built in 1923, was declared “structurally insufficient” over twenty years ago, but has continued in operation under a close eye of weekly safety tests and vehicle weight restrictions.

The collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis last year heightened concerns about the integrity of our nation’s infrastructure. Chunks of concrete have fallen from the South Street Bridge into the river and onto the highway below, and the bridge was not expected to survive the winter months. The South Street bridge connects several residential neighborhoods in Center City and South Philadelphia with the University of Pennsylvania (the largest private employer in the city) and two major hospitals.

Though the repair is badly needed, the bridge closing spells devastating inconvenience for several neighborhoods.  An estimated 23,000 motorists, 1,000 bicyclists, and scores of pedestrians cross the bridge every day. Local business owners are disappointed that the bridge is closing at the peak of the holiday shopping season. Commute times for many pedestrians and bikers will double, and increased traffic congestion will affect Center City, University City and I-76. Hopefully inevitable traffic delays will encourage Philadelphians to keep their cars at home and take advantage of mass transit.

Penn has installed more bicycle racks and added runs for its local shuttles. Doctors holding monthly parking passes have been encouraged to give those up and carpool or take public transit in exchange for guaranteed parking on the four or five nights a month they are on call.

[The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania] also has budgeted a large amount of overtime for Penn police to direct traffic at 19 key intersections, Mahoney said. From a command center on campus, the flow of cars will be monitored by closed-circuit television. A city traffic engineer will be on hand to order changes in the timing of stoplights and other adjustments as needed.

Despite the inconvenience, community members did not want to miss the opportunity for a safer bridge. Locals criticized the original design that was released in December 2006 for prioritizing vehicular needs over pedestrian needs.  The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation conceded to the South Street Bridge Coalition for a reduced number of vehicle lanes, pedestrian style lighting, wider bicycle lanes and sidewalks, a lower speed limit, and an additional crosswalk. These changes should improve the pedestrian and bike experiences on the bridge and promote sustainable forms of transportation.

Image courtesy of The West End on flickr under a Creative Commons license.