MLK Drive Bridge will close March 27 for reconstruction, city says

The Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Bridge will be closed starting March 27 for a $20.1 million reconstruction project that will last until spring 2025, city officials announced Friday.

The city also provided detour routes for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists who will need alternatives to the 690-foot bridge, which was built in 1966 and connects Eakins Oval to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Signs providing notification of the closure will be posted Monday. City officials had said the closure was set to begin in February, but that was delayed.

On March 27, outbound vehicular traffic from Center City will be redirected to the Spring Garden Street Bridge crossing the Schuylkill River and to westbound Interstate 76 to Montgomery Drive and to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Inbound vehicular traffic will be redirected to Sweetbriar Drive to Lansdowne Drive to 34th Street to cross the river over the Spring Garden Street Bridge.

Outbound bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be redirected to the Spring Garden Street Bridge to cross the river to reach Mantua Avenue, 34th Street, Lansdowne Drive, Sweetbriar Drive, and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Inbound bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be redirected from Sweetbriar Drive, Lansdowne Drive, 34th Street, and Mantua Avenue to the Spring Garden Street Bridge.

For cyclists and pedestrians, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia suggests an alternative route, following the path along Kelly Drive, Sedgley Drive through Lemon Hill Park, and crossing the river over the Girard Avenue Bridge to Lansdowne Drive. From there, connect to Sweetbriar Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The Schuylkill River Trail beneath the bridge will remain open except for several months when construction activity is taking place directly above the trail. City officials said they would provide further details when that construction work is set to start.

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was closed to cars for 17 months during the pandemic and became a popular recreation area. When vehicles were allowed back on the drive in the summer of 2021, inspectors found significant deterioration to part of the bridge’s steel frame.

The section of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from Sweetbriar Drive south to the bridge was not reopened and has remained closed to vehicles because of concerns about the bridge.

City officials said the reconstruction project involves the demolition and removal of the existing concrete bridge deck and barriers, and the construction of a new composite concrete bridge deck, barriers and railing, as well as rehabilitation work on the bridge superstructure and substructure, painting of the steel girders, roadway approach work, street lighting, curb ramps compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other miscellaneous construction.

The contract for the work — paid for by federal funds — was awarded to Haines & Kibblehouse Inc., city officials said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spotlighted the bridge in January 2022 as he hailed $27.5 billion in new federal aid headed to states for projects to repair aging bridges, $1.6 billion of it designated for Pennsylvania.

More details about the reconstruction project can be viewed here.