Development at Penn's Landing Park over I-95 in Philadelphia progresses. Here's a rundown on essential details.
The I-95 Cap Project in Philadelphia, a decade in the making, is progressing with a detailed timeline for various phases and components. This ambitious project, in partnership with the city, aims to create a significant green space and enhance the Delaware River waterfront.
**Reopening of I-95 Southbound:** The southbound lanes of I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut streets are set to reopen by mid-July 2025, following more than a month of overnight closures for construction of the first third of the highway cap. Crews are currently fastening everything together, bolting everything down, rechecking bolts, inspecting bolts, and ensuring everything is good before reopening the highway.
**Completion of the First Section of the Cap:** The first section of the cap, spanning I-95 South, is nearing completion in mid-2025. Once completed, this section will create approximately 4 acres of new parkland. Following this, work will commence on the second section above I-95 North lanes, which will remain open during this phase as foundational work begins.
**Park Development:** Once completed, the highway cap will create nearly 12 acres of new parkland, connecting Old City Philadelphia to the Delaware River waterfront at Penn’s Landing. The park, expected to take about a year to complete, will be home to a "natural woodlands" playground, cafe space, a reconstructed amphitheater, and other amenities.
**South Street Pedestrian Bridge Extension:** While explicit dates for the South Street pedestrian bridge extension are not detailed in the current updates, the city is actively pursuing infrastructure enhancements that include pedestrian access improvements along the waterfront and East-West corridors, indicating ongoing parallel projects alongside the highway cap work.
**Longer-term Work and Traffic Impact:** The new southbound traffic pattern is expected to remain in place until approximately 2029, due to continued beam placements and subsequent closures. This suggests that major construction phases and traffic adjustments related to the cap project and I-95 improvements will continue over the next several years.
In summary, the I-95 South lanes reopening is imminent (July 2025), park development is concurrent with the cap construction aiming to create a large public green space, and additional structural and pedestrian projects, including the South Street bridge extension, are part of the broader waterfront access improvements. Significant construction activity is expected to continue through at least 2029.
Joe Forkin, president of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, stated that the park could become a citywide and even regional asset, setting the stage for more quality development when construction started in 2023. The entire highway cap project is expected to be completed in 2029. I-95 North lanes currently remain open to drivers as PennDOT installs the foundation for the next segment.
[1] Philadelphia Inquirer. (2023). I-95 Cap Project: What we know about the highway cap in Philadelphia. Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/i-95-cap-project-philadelphia-20230111.html
[2] PlanPhilly. (2022). South Street Bridge extension to the waterfront could open in 2027, but funding is still uncertain. Retrieved from https://www.planphilly.com/articles/2022/02/10/south-street-bridge-extension-to-the-waterfront-could-open-in-2027-but-funding-is-still-uncertain
[5] Philadelphia Inquirer. (2023). I-95 Cap Project: What we know about the highway cap in Philadelphia. Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/i-95-cap-project-philadelphia-20230111.html
The first section of the highway cap, spanning I-95 South, will not only reopen the southbound lanes of I-95 by mid-July 2025, but also create approximately 4 acres of new parkland. In the long run, the park development that stems from the I-95 Cap Project could potentially become a citywide and even regional asset, attracting further quality development and fostering growth in the finance, industry, and transportation sectors of Philadelphia.
