What to Know
- The Building Philadelphia series focuses on major construction projects happening across the city that will improve how people move and connect.
- Some of the projects revamp train travel including PATCO reopening the Franklin Square Station and Amtrak modernizing William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.
- Other project takes scars of the past to a new future like the I-95 CAP project, Chinatown Stitch and Bellwether District.
From big dreams to big digs already underway, several construction projects in Philadelphia are looking to transform how we travel and connect for decades to come.
Throughout the workweek of Feb. 5, 2024, the reporters of NBC10 News at 6 a.m. examined the biggest construction projects transforming the City of Brotherly Love.
Making Philly's 30th Street Station a destination 🚉
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Changes have been underway at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station since 2021. More than half a billion dollars were dedicated to sprucing up the rail transit hub over 30 years all the way back in 2016.
"Gray 30th Street Station is one of the crown jewels of the Northeast Corridor," Amtrak station planning manager Brian Traylor told NBC10's Brenna Weick.
Now the project is in its second phase with the South Concourse and Market Street Plaza closed to the public in January, according to Amtrak's website dedicated to the project. The old food court off the main hall is among the areas closed.
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"The project will enhance the station’s functionality and improve the customer experience for Amtrak, SEPTA and NJ TRANSIT customers," Amtrak says. "The project will also improve the Market Street Plaza, expand retail offerings, and provide other benefits to the local community."
"We're hoping to minimize disruptions during construction," Traylor said.
The project will also enhance the connection to Center City on the other side of the Schuylkill River and be a "gateway to West Philly and University City," Amtrak says.
Among the planned benefits stemming from the revamped station: "Makes the station a destination in its own right," "improves pedestrian circulation and wayfinding" and "modernizes station operations."
Some of the old charm of the station will remain and the old train departure and arrival flip board will make a return, but for nostalgic purposes only as it doesn't meet current ADA compliance.
The $550 million project is being funding by both private and public money. The hope is to keep trains rolling as scheduled throughout the project.
Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
I-95 CAP will cover highway, connect Penn's Landing to Old City
The $329-million plan is grand -- to build green space above a section of Interstate 95 cutting right through the center of Philadelphia. It's called the I-95 CAP and it's well underway with demolitions of existing structures leading to some traffic stoppages along the way.
"It's a special project, it really is," longtime PennDOT engineer Harold Windisch said. "This is the pinnacle."
CAP is an acronym for Central Access Philadelphia. It is being funded through federal, local and private money. It's out with the old, in with the new.
"The new covering over I-95 will be enlarged to span between Chestnut and Walnut streets and will extend from Front Street east to cover Columbus Boulevard," PennDOT said. "The new covered area also will include construction of a new Park at Penn’s Landing."
"The centerpiece of the CAP project will be an amenity-rich, pedestrian-friendly Park at Penn’s Landing that will be constructed on the expanded covered area over I-95 and Columbus Boulevard," the I-95 CAP website says.
The new park will be an 11.5-acre civic space spanning I-95 and Columbus Boulevard between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, extending from Front Street to the Delaware River, according to PennDOT. It will feature an amphitheater, playground, restaurant, garden and even ice skating rink.
The project is expected to take several years to complete with a current target date of 2029 since "it's very involved," according to officials.
Chinatown Stitch to cover I-676, reconnected neighborhood
For decades the Vine Street Expressway has cut Philadelphia's Chinatown in half. The Chinatown Stitch looks to pull the neighborhood back together.
"The Chinatown Stitch: Reconnecting Philadelphia to Vine Street is a study to cap the Vine Street Expressway between Broad Street and 8th Street to reconnect Chinatown and Chinatown North," the City of Philadelphia says on its website.
There has been no groundbreaking on this project, but the city has come up with a basic game plan.
The City and its partners considered three concepts that all included capping I-676 with green space. Ultimately a Two-Block Concept prevailed that adds caps for the full block between 10th and 11th Streets, and 12th and 13th Streets. There is an open gap between 11th and 12th Streets, which allows for required ventilation for the expressway.
The current plan includes a park over the highway.
Don't expect to see heavy construction equipment out there just yet. The preliminary design and engineering stages are expected to continue through 2025, according to the City. "If funding is received, the City anticipates that construction could start as early as 2027."
PATCO brings train service back to Philly's Franklin Square 🚉
Driving around Franklin Square on the edge of Philly's Old City neighborhood you may have noticed lots of construction. It's actually all part of reconnecting PATCO service from New Jersey with the heart of Philadelphia's historic district.
There is actually a long-shuttered train station underground near the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge. 👻 You may have noticed to so-called "ghost" station while riding PATCO into or out of Philadelphia.
The station is a terminal frozen in time.
"That's why they call it the 'ghost' station,'" PATCO general manager John Rink told NBC10's Matt DeLucia.
"Since its grand opening in 1936, the station, located near Seventh and Race Streets, has sporadically closed and reopened with the last period of passenger service between 1976 and 1979," PATCO says on the project website.
"From a structural standpoint, the station is in great shape," Rink said.
The new station at 7th and Race streets with ADA-compliant elevator, escalator and ramps and even a green roof -- and backed by more than $12 million in federal grants -- is set to open in Fall 2024.
The plan to reopen the rebuilt station first came about in 2017. The COVID pandemic then threatened to derail the plan. However, with much to do in the destination park above and surrounding area, the reopening nears.
The Bellwether District to rise from longtime South Philly refinery
For years, the aging Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site in South Philadelphia stood as a reminder of the city's past. A 2019 blast and other issues proceeded its eventual demise.
Now the 1,300-acre site situated along the Schuylkill River is promising a "state-of-the-art campus" that will be "home for e-commerce, logistics, life science and innovation leaders." It's called The Bellwether District.
The project positions Philly at the center of the shipping and logistics boom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
"I can't think of a better place to be then right here at the Bellwether District," the first-term Democrat said. "Think about the uniqueness of this location: connected to downtown, our universities, Philadelphia International Airport and just a couple hour drive from 25% of the American population."
The first phase of the industrial campus at the site is set to open in the first quarter of 2025 and construction on the initial phase of the innovation campus is getting underway this year, according to the Bellwether website.
Neighbors in surrounding communities still have questions about the project that could be answered at upcoming public meetings.
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