January 27, 2021 – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has substantially completed construction on a project to enhance traffic flow and surface street access to Interstate 95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge Interchange by widening and improving a section of Aramingo Avenue, building several new ramps, and extending Adams Avenue in the Frankford section of Philadelphia.
Work crews wrapped up activities in early January 2021 to widen Aramingo Avenue to four lanes with center turn lanes between Wheatsheaf Lane and Church Street, and construct a new, wider bridge over the Frankford Creek. This project, I-95 Section BS4, is the first of two surface street improvement projects designed to move traffic to, from and between I-95 at the Betsy Ross Bridge and adjacent Bridge Street interchanges.
In addition to surface street improvements, PennDOT’s contractor built four new or replacement ramps since the start of Section BS4 construction in 2017. The ramps will connect Aramingo Avenue and Adams Avenue motorists with northbound and southbound I-95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge at the completion of an ongoing ramp replacement project, Section BR2, which is currently underway at the interchange and scheduled for completion in 2022.
The improvements are part of PennDOT’s overall project to reconstruct I-95 at the two interchanges. Section BS3, tentatively scheduled for construction in 2026, will further improve Aramingo Avenue from Church Street to Tacony Street, and other surface streets serving the Bridge Street Interchange.
With the completion of work on BS4, center turn lanes are now in place at the signalized intersection to the ramps to northbound and southbound I-95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge. A new signalized intersection constructed on Aramingo Avenue at the access to the extension of Adams Avenue (Adams Avenue Connector) has been built, but will not open until Section BR2 finishes in late 2022. The new left turn lane from northbound Aramingo Avenue to Church Street, along with left turns from Church Street to Aramingo Avenue, will open by the completion of post-construction work items later this winter.
Construction of the new Adams Avenue Connector (Section H04), a half-mile long roadway built in conjunction with the Section BS4 project between Torresdale Avenue and Aramingo Avenue — with access to and from the ramps to I-95 and the bridge — also is substantially completed. The Connector, a segment of which is presently in use as a detour route for ramps from the bridge that are closed for replacement, is expected to fully open at the completion of the BR2 project.
As part of the Adams Avenue Connector project, PennDOT also built a section of new lighted, multi-use trail between Torresdale Avenue and Aramingo Avenue. The new section of trail, which is currently open for pedestrians and cyclists, will ultimately connect to and become part of the Frankford Creek Greenway.
In addition, Section H04 improvements along Torresdale Avenue between Frankford Avenue and Adams Avenue also were completed under this project, including installation of new water mains and sidewalks, as well as repaving of Torresdale Avenue between Hunting Park Avenue and Auth Street.
A.P. Construction, Inc., of Blackwood, NJ, is the general contractor on the $80.9 million BS4 project, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds.
For a complete list of construction projects impacting state-owned highways in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, visit www.penndot.gov/District6TrafficBulletin.
