The City announced on Tuesday, July 20 that Martin Luther King (MLK) Drive will be opened to vehicular traffic beginning on Wednesday, August 4 at 5 p.m. However, due to repairs needed to MLK Bridge, the Drive will remain closed south of Sweetbriar Drive until rehab construction is completed.
We are fortunate that the closure of MLK Drive allowed the City to address requests for recreational space during the height of the pandemic and at the same time facilitated the completion of a number of needed infrastructure projects such as the trail. This includes a $1.4 million dollar project to completely reconstruct, rehabilitate and widen the recreational trail, including upgrades to drainage, signage, ADA ramps and line striping, which was proposed before the pandemic and will provide a far safer experience for walkers, joggers and cyclists to continue enjoying the riverbank regardless of traffic on the Drive.
An inspection to the underside of the MLK bridge found one of the connections of the steel framing to be about 75 percent deteriorated. As a result, we will have to keep the bridge closed to traffic until the rehab construction. For now, the bridge can stay open and is still safe for pedestrians and bicycles, but no motor vehicles will be able to use the bridge until the full rehabilitation project is complete.
The City is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to provide electronic, variable message signs in the affected area. There will also be support from traffic police at the signal of Girard and Lansdowne.
Based on the pre-pandemic seasonal pattern, the City will continue to close the Drive for weekend recreational use and City holidays from Falls Bridge to Eakins Oval starting on Saturday, August 7 at 6 a.m. through the end of October. The City is also looking at ways to extend these closures beyond this pattern and it is committed to:
- Providing training and orientation of partner agencies to support the extension of the closure through to Spring 2022 and to pilot options which include continuous and holiday closures starting in September.
- Evaluating the longer-term sustainable options which may involve procurement of additional equipment and or services over the next six months.
The recreational trail improvement project was funded by PA DCNR, DVRPC’s Regional Trails Program, PA DCED and the City of Philadelphia.
Given the progress of design work that has been underway over the past year and a half, the repair project is expected to be completed in 2024.
