I-95 Cap Project: Southbound lane closures begin Tuesday night
The Brief
A "milestone" for the I-95 Cap Project connecting Old City to Penn's Landing begins Tuesday night.
Southbound lanes will be closed nightly 11PM-5AM Sunday-Thursday nights until July as workers install steel beams.
The $329 million project is expected to be completed in 2028-2029.
PHILADELPHIA - A major PennDot traffic detour is scheduled to begin, and it will continue well into the summer.
What we know
On Tuesday night, crews started preparation work on the next phase of the year-long I-95 Cap Project.
The southbound lanes of I-95 will close from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
However, starting June 8, overnight closures will begin every Sunday to Thursday through late July while workers install 80 steel beams across the highway.
"Basically, 95 South is going to be closed from 676 all the way down to the onramp to Morris Street where it hits Water Street. So, the work zone is small but the impact is large" said PennDot spokesperson Brad Rudolph.
It is a major milestone in the $329 million project that's been talked about for years.
What they're saying
Jorin Gerveni, the owner of Cuor di Caffe coffee shop, not only sees the constant parade of construction equipment outside his front door. He welcomes it.
The I-95 Cap Project is the reason he set up shop here.
"I saw this as a great long-term project and sign early and grow my brand so when the project eventually does get done it will be a huge opportunity."
The next phase in the construction is a big step in that long-awaited project.
"We are starting to build up. It is a milestone. There is a light at the end of the tunnel" said Rudolph.
The project will eventually connect Old City to the Delaware River, featuring an 11-and-a-half-acre "Park at Penn's Landing" that will stretch between Front, Walnut and Chestnut Streets to the River.
A new South Street pedestrian bridge over the highway is also under construction. But completion of the entire project is still years away and much of Penns Landing will look like a construction site for the foreseeable future.
Completion of the entire project is expected by 2029.
In the meantime, Old City homeowners and commuters say the constant noise and detours have become a regular part of life.
"I try to avoid going this way as much as possible. And it's been over a year I tried to avoid this" said Anita Evermon of South Philadelphia.
From his coffee shop window, Gerveni watched a PennDot truck begin the next phase of construction.
He says, despite the dust and detours, there is optimism about what's ahead.
"I'm here for the next decade so I'm not moving" said Gerveni.
What's next
PennDot says once the beams are installed on the southbound lanes of I-95, work will begin to construct concrete piers for beam installation atop Northbound lanes.
Beam installation on the northbound lanes is expected to begin next spring.
The entire project is not expected to be finished until 2029.
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