December 6, 2022 – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that initial construction activities are underway on the $267.9 million Interstate 95 Section BS2 project to reconstruct I-95 at the Bridge Street Interchange, including improvements to the interchange and replacement of the viaduct that carries I-95 over Bridge Street and Tacony Street in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia.
Construction activities through December will focus on clearing vegetation from the I-95 work area embankments, along with surveying, extensive utility relocations and improvements, and setting the project’s erosion and sedimentation controls on surface streets at the interchange area.
Motorists may encounter periodic travel restrictions Mondays through Fridays, between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM, on those surface streets, primarily on Tacony, Bridge, James, and Carver streets in the vicinity of I-95.
Crews may also occasionally close shoulders or lanes on I-95 during off-peak or evening hours in preparation for mainline reconstruction scheduled to begin next spring at the completion of the I-95 Section BS1 median-area reconstruction between Levick Street and Carver Street.
Construction on Section BS2 will rebuild northbound and southbound I-95 from just north of Margaret Street to Carver Street. The existing southbound off-ramp at James Street will be relocated further north to connect with Tacony Street via the relocated Carver Street underpass.
The existing northbound I-95 ramp to Bridge Street/Harbison Avenue (Exit 27) will close permanently next spring. Northbound I-95 traffic headed to Bridge Street will use the ramp to the Betsy Ross Bridge and Aramingo Avenue (Exit 26). That ramp will take motorists to a left turn onto northbound Aramingo Avenue — which was widened and improved under the I-95 Section BS4 contract completed in 2020 — to access Bridge Street. Removal of the existing northbound ramp at Bridge Street will eliminate an existing merge condition for motorists exiting at Bridge Street to access Aramingo Avenue.
The existing on-ramp to northbound I-95 from Bridge Street also will be relocated under the Section BS2 contract to a new interchange on Tacony Street in the vicinity of the Dietz & Watson and Honor Foods facilities. The existing northbound on-ramp will remain open during construction. The new ramp will eventually be connected to an extension of Delaware Avenue that will be built during the Section BS5 phase scheduled for construction beginning in 2024.
In addition to replacing the viaduct and the Carver Street bridge, Section BS2 construction will replace the I-95 bridge over Fraley Street; reconstruct Tacony Street from Comly Street to Buckius Street; and replace or install several new traffic signals at the interchange.
Section BS2 project will complete mainline I-95 reconstruction between the Bridge Street and Cottman Avenue interchanges in late 2026.
James J. Anderson Construction of Philadelphia is the general contractor on the project, which is financed with 100% federal funds.
