I-676 In Chinatown Could Be Capped Under New Project

PHILADELPHIA — As work to cap part of Interstate 95 near Penn's Landing enters preliminary constructions, officials are now eyeing the idea of capping parts of Interstate 676 in the Chinatown area.

The Chinatown Stitch project could see a cap over the highway to reconnect the Chinatown community.

A "cap" is a bridge, platform or structure built over a limited access highway, which creates the potential for uses such as parks, open space, or even commercial and residential development.

The city and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) are working together on the project thanks to a new grant made possible by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP).

Community input is being sought for the potential capping project.

Residents are encouraged to fill out this survey, also available in Spanish and simplified Chinese.

Feedback will directly influence the proposed designs developed in the second phase of the Concept Study.

The study will have two distinct phases

Phase 1 entails seeking public input to develop a project vision and establish project goals based on what the community wants to see; identifying preferred locations and types of capping; and prioritizing uses of the capped area.

Then in phase 2, that input will be used to develop a series of potential designs for capping locations.

The project team will work with the community to identify a preferred design approach that is consistent with the vision and goals established in phase 1.

In April, the project team will host a public visioning session to hear from the community about potential uses and locations for the capped area(s).

Additional pop-up events are planned throughout the spring and summer of 2023.

A schedule will be available on the project website’s calendar of events.

Over the next few years, the grant funding will support public engagement, planning and engineering work.

These efforts will contribute toward future construction grant applications, as fundraising and project development continue.

The City hopes to start construction by 2028, depending on funding availability and the complexity of concepts chosen by the community.

To learn more about the Chinatown Stitch, visit the project page to review meeting minutes and access a calendar of events.

If a civic organization would like to request a presentation from the project team at their next meeting, they can do so by emailing OTIS@phila.gov.

"After more than three decades of harm and displacement caused by the Vine Street Expressway, the Reconnecting Communities grant is a beacon of hope for the Chinatown community," said John Chin, Executive Director for PCDC. "The funding from this grant will provide concrete change for Chinatown’s built environment, allowing for businesses, residents and future generations of our marginalized community to flourish."

Since the 1960s, the Vine Street Expressway has been greeted with significant community opposition.

Upon completion of construction in 1991, the expressway intensified the social and economic disconnect between the Chinatown and Chinatown North neighborhoods, according to the city.

The community engaged in numerous neighborhood plans and studies over the past twenty years, the city said.

“The initial phase of the Chinatown Stitch project will study ways to reconnect the Chinatown neighborhood across the Vine Street Expressway I-676," said Deputy Managing Director for Transportation Mike Carroll. "OTIS is proud to lead this important work to repair historic harms caused by the highway construction, which physically divided Chinatown and heightened traffic safety and environmental justice issues."

The planning project costs $4 million and includes the $1.8 million grant award from the RCP Program.

Matching funds totaling $2.2 million were offered by the City, PennDOT, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and a number of private local donors.