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Beginning in February, MLK Drive bridge will be closed to the public until summer 2025

The bridge is about 57 years old and needs extensive repairs.

Recreational cyclists along Martin Luther King Drive over river as Texas-based Dredgit is pumping the muck from north side of Schuylkill river in August 2022.
Recreational cyclists along Martin Luther King Drive over river as Texas-based Dredgit is pumping the muck from north side of Schuylkill river in August 2022.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

Work to refurbish the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive bridge is expected to begin in February, and the span will be off-limits to the public until the summer of 2025, city officials said.

That’s when the $20 million construction project, financed in part with federal money, is scheduled to be finished, Streets Department spokesperson Keisha McCarty-Skelton said Wednesday. The bridge needs repair to ensure it is safe to carry vehicles.

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.

The 690-foot bridge, built in 1966, connects Eakins Oval to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the west bank of the Schuylkill. The scenic drive was closed to cars for 17 months during the pandemic and became a popular recreation area. Advocates lobbied to permanently ban cars to allow for running, walking and cycling, but fell short in the effort.

When motor vehicles were allowed back on the drive in summer 2021, the city kept the bridge closed to them because inspectors had found significant deterioration in part of its steel frame. Martin Luther King Drive remains car-free from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends all year round.

“Fixing the bridge is a safety issue, but we want people to know that the policy still stands, and MLK Drive will stay open on weekends even with the rehab work,” said Nicole Brunet, policy director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

News of the impending repairs was first reported by Philly Voice and the Bicycle Coalition.

During construction, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will be closed to all users from the bridge to Sweetbriar Drive. A part of the Schuylkill River Trail that passes beneath the bridge also will be closed.

Cyclists and pedestrians on the east bank of the Schuylkill will need to detour to cross over to the drive via the Girard Avenue Bridge.

To get there, the Bicycle Coalition suggests: Take the bike path beside Kelly Drive, take Sedgley Drive through Lemon Hill Park, then bike along the south Girard Avenue sidewalk to Lansdowne Drive. From there, connect to Sweetbriar Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

» READ MORE: MLK Drive Bridge to Close for Repairs