Summer 2019 Construction Update

Median Construction, Underside Repairs Continue

A long view of the closed median with a temporary barrier in place.

Summer 2019 - A number of construction activities continue on the underside of the structure as workers on the top side reconstruct the median area of the U.S. 1/Roosevelt Expressway viaduct between the Wissahickon Avenue/Germantown Avenue and Broad Street exits in North Philadelphia.

Crews are repairing dozens of concrete columns that support the half-mile long structure that carries traffic over Germantown Avenue, Wayne Avenue and other streets in the Nicetown neighborhood.

In addition to column repairs, workers are repairing, cleaning and painting the steel components in enclosed work areas on the underside of the viaduct as other crews continue installing the protective shielding, moving north-to-south, on the underside of the structure.

Large vacuums prevent particles from entering the air

The shielding provides a platform for underside repairs while preventing construction debris from falling to the ground. The enclosures, which are vented and cleared by high-powered vacuums that collect dust from steel repairs and painting operations, prevent particles from entering the air.

Topside crews have removed the existing median and are working in tandem with the activities underway on the underside to repair the structural steel under the middle of the viaduct and replace the median pavement. When median work finishes in late fall, southbound traffic will be shifted to the middle of the expressway for approximately nine months of repairs and repaving on the southbound side.

The Cayuga Street on-ramp to southbound U.S. 1/Roosevelt Expressway was closed and detoured in mid-April to allow crews to set up the Stage 1 traffic pattern that will be in place through October. That pattern moved two lanes of northbound and southbound traffic to the outside edges of the viaduct, setting up a work area in the middle of the expressway.

Current construction is Stage 1 of six stages of repairs being completed under a $90 million contract to rehabilitate the 2,587-foot long viaduct.

The entire project is scheduled to be completed in late 2022.