July 9, 2021 – Placement of the concrete deck at the southern end of the new southbound Interstate 95 viaduct at Girard Avenue (see below) and construction of the interchange’s new southbound off-ramp continue to progress toward completion this fall as work continues into 2022 on ground-level enhancements beneath the interstate designed to benefit the neighboring community.
New at-grade southbound I-95 roadway is in place from just south of the Allegheny Avenue interchange to the start of the viaduct at Ann Street. These new southbound lanes will open at the completion of the viaduct and ramp.
The new southbound off-ramp will connect motorists with Aramingo Avenue and provide access to Girard Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods. The off-ramp remains closed during construction. A southbound ramp detour directs motorists heading for Girard Avenue to exit at Allegheny Avenue and follow a posted detour that runs adjacent to the northbound side of I-95 back to Richmond Street.
The remainder of the new Aramingo Avenue bridge remains under construction and will be completed this summer. Half of the bridge is in place and carrying Aramingo Avenue traffic to the new southbound I-95 on-ramp — which remains open during construction — or to the Delaware Riverfront along Richmond Street and Delaware Avenue.
Widening and other improvements to Aramingo Avenue between the bridge and York Street are expected to continue through the end of the year. New sidewalks have been built on both sides of Aramingo Avenue between York and Cumberland streets.
Sound wall panels also are being placed atop parapets along the new southbound viaduct between Indiana Avenue and Palmer Street (see below).
Construction of the new southbound viaduct is expected to continue through fall 2021. The new structure will provide four southbound through lanes as well as a continuous on-off lane that will run between the Allegheny Avenue on-ramp and the Aramingo Avenue on-ramp at the Girard Avenue Interchange.
Underside Improvements
In the interchange’s expansive space beneath the new, twin northbound and southbound viaducts, crews are creating a variety of public spaces for use by the adjacent Port Richmond and Fishtown communities. The spaces include walkways that wind through areas of cobblestones (see right) and blue-dyed concrete, rain gardens, strips of planted grass along parts of the western perimeter, benches, trees, and small public parking areas. Pedestrian-friendly LED overhead lighting will illuminate the underside area when construction of these ground-level improvements finishes in fall 2022.
A number of rock-lined retention ponds (see below), part of the interchange’s extensive new stormwater drainage system, are integrated into the public spaces under the rebuilt interstate as well.
The GR4 contract also includes installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) components that are currently under construction at various locations across the region (on I-95, U.S. 1, and U.S. 322) that will assist PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia with traffic and incident management on the region’s highways.
The new and improved southbound I-95 will connect to a 1,200 foot-segment of I-95 south of the interchange that was reconstructed in 2013-2015 under the GR2 contract. Northbound I-95 between the Girard Avenue and Allegheny Avenue interchanges, including a new northbound viaduct, was reconstructed under the GR3 contract that finished in 2017.
Reconstruction of I-95 south of the Girard Avenue Interchange — between Frankford Avenue and I-676 — is scheduled to start in 2023.