Part Of Schuylkill River Trail Closing Through December In Philly

PHILADELPHIA — A portion of the Schuylkill River Trail is closing through December due to ongoing work on the Martin Luther King Bridge.

The Philadelphia Streets Department Friday said the trail will close from Paine’s Park and Fairmount Water Works.

This portion will close to pedestrians and cyclists for the rest of December.

Pedestrians and bicyclists will be detoured at the closures between Paine’s Park and Fairmount Water Works. Trail detour signs will be posted at either end of the trail closure to direct pedestrians and bikers around the closure using the trail behind the Philadelphia Art Museum to reconnect to Kelly Drive. The trail is expected to be reopened to pedestrians and bicyclists by the start of the new year.

The closure will accommodate bridge contractor to safely work on the MLK Bridge over top of the SRT. The bridge contractor will be installing debris shielding and scaffolding, as well as blasting, priming, and painting of the existing bridge structure.

This work is part of the ongoing MLK Bridge Rehabilitation project which is being performed by Haines & Kibblehouse. The value of the construction contract is $20.1M, and is being fully funded using federal dollars. Overall bridge construction is expected to be completed by spring 2025.