PHILADELPHIA — The City announced today that construction activities for the Chestnut Street Repaving Project will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, as part of scheduled PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) repaving.

On Chestnut Street, the PennDOT repaving project will:

  • Add a new parking-separated bike lane from 63rd Street/Cobbs Creek Parkway to 45th Street to provide a separate space for people biking

  • Remove a vehicle lane to calm traffic and reduce the speed of people driving

  • Shorten pedestrian crossing distance for people walking across Chestnut Street

  • Create a high-quality bicycle connection between West Philadelphia and Center City

“As one of the streets on the Vision Zero High Injury Network, I am proud to see construction along Chestnut Street begin. Implementing traffic safety improvements along Chestnut Street will greatly improve safety for people who walk, take transit, bike, and drive on the road,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “We remain committed to making critical investments in traffic safety improvements throughout Philadelphia to ensure everyone feels safe traveling throughout our city.”

The new roadway layout will provide traffic calming, a necessary safety upgrade on this section of roadway. Listed on the City’s High Injury Network, West Chestnut Street is a part of the 12 percent of city streets that account for 80 percent of serious and fatal traffic crashes in Philadelphia.

From 2016 to 2020, Chestnut Street between 63rd Street/Cobbs Creek Parkway and 45th Street had a crash rate of 25 crashes per mile per year, compared to a crash rate of 13 crashes per mile per year on Chestnut Street between 45th and 34th, where a parking-protected bike lane was installed in 2017 (PennDOT Crash Data, 2016 to 2020).

The schedule will go as follows:

  • Tuesday, June 7 through Friday, June 10, from 7:00 p.m to 6:00 a.m., lane closures are scheduled on Chestnut Street between Cobbs Creek Parkway and 34th Street for milling operations; and

  • Wednesday, June 8 through Friday, June 10, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., periodic lane closures are scheduled on Chestnut Street between Cobbs Creek Parkway and 34th Street for prepping operations

In addition to West Chestnut Street, West Market Street will receive safety improvements later this summer. Improvements will include newly painted bike lanes in each direction from 30th to 34th Street.

For more information, see the Construction Notice, visit the project page for the Chestnut and Walnut Repaving project page, and see the PennDOT District 6 news and traffic alerts page (www.penndot.pa.gov/District6).

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