Philadelphia Celebrates Completion of Chestnut Street Bridges

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Project stakeholders gathered on Friday to celebrate the completion of the $105 million Chestnut Street Bridges project that addressed structurally deficient bridges on Chestnut Street and Schuylkill Avenue. Members of the Benesch team joined Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Melissa Batula and several City of Philadelphia representatives to take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony.

For Benesch’s Jessica Rehrig, the event offered the opportunity to reflect on years of hard work. “The ribbon cutting was a celebration of a complex rehabilitation project which I started on as a project engineer and followed from design through construction as a project manager. It gives me great pride to see designs I worked on with my team transformed into reality,” said Rehrig.

Benesch led the design services for the Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River bridge as well as rehabilitation of seven nearby structures on both sides of the river. The rehabilitation sought to maintain and enhance safe and efficient transportation facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists while serving the existing and future needs of Center City Philadelphia.

While the Chestnut Street Bridge opened to traffic in March 2022, minor construction continued through the summer. The 24th Street arch structure rehabilitation was completed with the installation of ornate metal railings and the parking-protected bike lane opened. Through a partnership between the City of Philadelphia OTIS and PennDOT, the traditional right-side bike lane was replaced with a left-side, parking protected bike lane between Schuylkill Avenue West and 22nd Street on Chestnut Street, enhancing and expanding the City’s bicycle network. The project features the first bicycle signal in Philadelphia, providing bicyclists with a protected phase of the signal timing to cross the intersection.

Learn more about the project here.