Northern Liberties liberated: The grimy stretch of Spring Garden St. that leads into Northern Liberties will soon be illuminated by a glowing metal garden hanging from the walls.

  If all goes to according to plan, the Spring Garden Connector Street will be complete by July, according to Karen Thompson, project manager for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.

  After the project is completed, the underpass will be a little more “Alice in Wonderland” and a lot less Jack the Ripper. The now dark underpass will bloom with flowers and vines made from cut metal panels and illuminated by programmable color-changing LED lights.

  The DRWC is eager to complete the Spring Garden Connector Street because it links Northern Liberties to the waterfront and Festival Pier which is slated for redevelopment in the near future.

  The project was designed by Cloud Gehshan Associates and the DRWC and unveiled in February of 2014. The artistic development and fabrication was handled by Leni Schwendinger Light Projects Ltd., the Lighting Practice, Urban Signs and associates from Cloud Gehshan. RBA Group has lead the implementation process.

  The metal panels will be backlit by LEDs that change in color and intensity throughout the day and night. The plan is for the connector street to be illuminated 24/7.

  The four corners of the underpass will be wrapped in metal and panels will be suspended from from the ceiling of the underpass. The ceiling panels will also be backlit and cast an abstracted pattern on the sidewalk.