Grays Ferry Avenue is partially reopened after CHOP garage collapse
The Grays Ferry Shopping Center, including the Fresh Grocer, are back open starting Tuesday.
Parts of Grays Ferry Avenue in South Philadelphia and the adjacent shopping center are back open after crews demolished the collapsed Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia garage and recovered the bodies of the workers who died there last week.
Grays Ferry Avenue has reopened from Washington Avenue to 29th Street, allowing pedestrians and vehicles to enter the Grays Ferry Shopping Center stores and parking lot at the 29th Street entrance. The complex can be accessed only via 29th Street, as Grays Ferry Avenue remains closed at 30th Street, the intersection where the garage collapsed, and 31st Street, according to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management.
Fresh Grocer, the neighborhood’s primary grocery store, and Chase Bank are open, store staff confirmed. But emergency management officials advised customers to check with businesses before visiting as their hours may be modified as they reopen.
As crews were building CHOP’s new 1,000-car garage at 30th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue, the seven-story structure partially collapsed Wednesday when a precast concrete roof segment failed and fell, killing three workers: Mark Scott Jr., Matthew Kane, and Stepan Shevchuk.
Local, state, and federal agencies scoured the site for days, meticulously assessing the structural integrity of the partially collapsed garage before sending in recovery crews for Scott and Kane, who had been pinned under the rubble. Demolition of the garage occurred Saturday, recovery crews entered the site Sunday evening, and the two ironworkers were recovered early Monday morning.
Now, officials will transition to the investigation of the collapse. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed an executive order Monday that directs the city’s law department to work with a consultant to conduct a comprehensive investigation. A confidential status report is due to Parker in 60 days. The final findings are due in 180 days, in mid-October.
After that, a special independent committee on the collapse will review the law department’s findings and advise Parker “on potential reforms or improvements.”
Staff writer Jake Blumgart contributed to this article.
