Construction to begin soon to repair MLK Bridge near Art Museum
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Construction will soon begin to repair the MLK bridge near the Art Museum. But to get the work done, part of a popular trail will have to close.
"Either bike or walk along the trail every day basically," Phani Paladugu said.
For Paladugu, a walk along the Schuylkill River trail is a release from his day-to-day routine as a medical school student.
"I'm a med student at Jefferson, so it just helps me unwind every day," Paladugu said. "I just come out here. I go all the way down to East Falls come back down MLK. It's really nice having this facility. I think it's a blessing."
But that blessing could be a curse. There's been constant wear and tear on the Martin Luther King Bridge that rests above the trail and it needs extensive repairs. To complete the work, the city has to close the portion of the trail that runs underneath it detouring Gabi Ramos and her rescue dog, Enzo's daily walk.
"I kind of go crazy without being in the sun or outside for a little bit so this is a huge thing just being able to go outside a little bit and I love walking here all the time," Ramos said.
MLK Drive and the bridge were closed to vehicle traffic at the start of the pandemic to get people outside and social distance and when the city went to reopen the bridge a year and a half later it was found to be structurally unsafe.
"It's a connection from one side of the river to the other side but it's also a piece of infrastructure that needs to be maintained," Nicole Brunet said.
Brunet is the policy director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. During construction, they're suggesting trail users go around the front of the Art Museum on Kelly Drive but the city is suggesting users go around the back on Art Museum Drive.
The Philadelphia Streets Department says a construction contract was recently awarded and work should start soon. The trail isn't expected to reopen until the summer of 2025.
"It's motivating to be out here to run with a bunch of people and I live in NJ and we don't have a spot like this to really enjoy yourself by the river," Edward Brady said.
The project is expected to cost about $20 million. Funding is partly coming from the bipartisan infrastructure.
