CENTER CITY. A $75 to $100 million project to remove and replace seven street bridges that cross Interstate 676 between 18th and 22nd streets was shown to the city Art Commission yesterday.
The major overhaul remains four years off and likely won’t be completed until 2015 at the earliest. PennDOT officials who presented the preliminary design before the commission said the new bridges will not only enhance structural stability but provide an opportunity to improve the ground level area to the south of the Free Library and the north of Logan Circle.
A project supervisor said it is not part of any proposal to cover over the stretch of I-676 through Center City, going so far to say that PennDOT has no plans currently to “top off” the expressway.
