The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced contractors will begin repaving along 49th Street, Grays Avenue, Lindbergh Boulevard, and Elmwood Avenue. Sections of those streets will have a new road layout after repaving: 49th Street (Paschall – Grays), Grays Avenue (49th – Lindbergh), and Lindbergh Boulevard (Grays – Elmwood.). Since 2019, staff from the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS) and the Department of Streets worked with the community to plan for traffic safety elements as part of the repaving work.
Today, the stretch between Woodland Avenue and 49th Street, and Elmwood Avenue and Lindbergh Boulevard is an industrial area with trolley tracks for the SEPTA 36 trolley and a sharp curve at Grays Avenue. There are warehouses, the Department of Streets Sanitation Yard, and other trucking uses, as well as a gas station along the corridor. This is also a key link in the bike network between the University City, Southwest Philadelphia, and Forgotten Bottom neighborhoods, with connections to Bartram’s Mile Trail, Bartram’s Garden, and the Gray’s Ferry Bridge.
Construction includes:
- Milling the roadway & repaving with fresh asphalt
- Painting new lanes and bike lane lines
- Installing new crosswalks and flexible delineator posts
- Installing striping and flex posts at irregular intersections
When will work occur?
Construction will start in October of 2021 and continue throughout the Fall during daytime hours. There are four steps to construction:
- Milling the streets to remove existing asphalt
- Adjusting manholes and grates
- Paving with new asphalt
- Installing line striping and protected bike lane features
Why is this project important?
This repaving project is an opportunity to make safety improvements. The corridor is on the Vision Zero High Injury Network, which means that there is a higher rate of severe traffic crashes than the average Philadelphia street. The project will increase safety by:
• Creating dedicated spaces for people getting on and off the trolley
• Updating intersection striping including crosswalks for better visibility
• Combining both painted bike lanes to a two-way protected bike lane
• Providing a smooth road surface
There were 47 reported crashes on the corridor from 2015-2019 with 96 people involved in crashes, including 2 people killed and 3 people seriously injured.
Road closures during construction
Travel lanes will be open during the majority of construction. Periodic nighttime closures will occur.
Remember, Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code defines bicycles as vehicles. People biking are permitted to take
the entire lane.
People walking, biking, and driving should follow posted signs, detours, and parking notices during construction.
For more information about the paving process, visit phila.gov/paving. Signs will be posted on each block with details for construction, including dates and hours.
