In 1947, the Philadelphia Planning Commission expressed that, “The critical need of the area is a north-south express highway, running close to the Delaware River…with quick access into downtown Philadelphia.”

In 1962, construction began with many concerns about the highway separating the city from the Delaware River. Through the 60s and 70s, many protested the changes, and in some cases, demolition and forced purchase/relocation of neighborhoods affected by the highway. This includes a successful negation of a proposed Cobbs Creek Expressway (I-695) in Southwest Philadelphia and neighboring towns in Delaware County. I-95 was officially completed in Philadelphia by 1985 and has been a much-discussed topic since.

One of those discussions took place recently at the Cione Recreation Center at Lehigh and Aramingo Avenues. Residents packed into the room for the monthly Olde Richmond Civic Association (ORCA) meeting to hear a presentation from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) about the progress and plans for local infrastructure improvements, particularly the AFC (Ann Street to Frankford Creek) section of the I-95 five-section renewal project. You can read more about the project at www.95revive.com.

The first presenter from PennDOT was Sue Gibbons, who highlighted promising local upgrades. The main topic was the upheaval of Richmond Street to restore the Route 15 trolley up to Westmoreland Street. Amidst some skepticism, this was generally viewed favorably, particularly by neighbors who are eager to mesh Port Richmond’s shops and culture with an easily accessible trolley route. On Richmond Street between Ann Street and Allegheny Avenue, the sidewalks on both sides of the street will be narrowed by two feet to accommodate larger driving/trolley lane and parking lanes. The new design is based on Philly’s “Complete Streets” manual, including trees along the edge of sidewalks and the trolley tracks embedded in concrete compared to asphalt to help prevent potholes.

The microphone was then handed off to PennDOT’s Pam Conti, who began to explain the specifics of the I-95 project to concerned residents. Her presentation began on a positive note: The new routing of trucks from the industrial zone east of I-95 directly onto the highway to avoid the neighborhood streets, I-95 moving from a “fill” design to an elevated design above Monkiewicz Playground to nearly double the open space area, the installation of a noise wall for everyone west of the highway, and expanded bike trails as part of the East Coast Greenway. For more visit http://www.greenway.org.

From there, the meeting got a bit more tense and serious as focus shifted from the potential benefits of the project to the daunting, disruptive and dangerous effects that I-95 reconstruction is having on residents. The loudest comments came from citizens whose houses are adjacent to the piledriving and demolition, incurring a daily wrath of vibrations and uncontrollable dust.

It’s gotten so bad that one resident shared a story of a daytime visit to his home from a representative from Hill International, a PennDOT associate. Hill’s mission, according to their website, “is to be the very best professional services firm in the world helping our clients minimize the risks inherent in the construction process.” Upon their visit to the Port Richmond home, the Hill representative deemed the house to be “unlivable” to the homeowner. For those of you curious to what an “unlivable” house may entail, it was described in-detail by the homeowner to include “cracking walls, [out-of-control dust situation], and having to push bottles on a shelf back to the wall every few days or they will fall off from the [nearly constant daytime] vibrations.”

Concerning actual daily assistance from PennDOT, many residents expressed their frustration at the “lip-service” they were receiving about their concerns. Conti defused a potentially unraveling situation by laying down the bare truth:

“I-95 was built decades ago, without much thought towards maintenance and it’s effect on neighboring homes and structures. However, it’s a vital regional route that we all know is in disrepair and needs to be fixed. So please continue to be patient as we help you out the best we can until this five-section project is completed in 2027.”

The AFC section of road work will likely last until 2025. The sobering reality of the overall I-95 project’s magnitude and time frame struck the room like lightning and had a deflating effect on the tense atmosphere, bringing it back to a more helpless nature.

Conti’s statement about our infrastructure is something that should strike a chord in all residents. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave America a D+ grade in the subject of infrastructure. Pennsylvania earned itself a grade of C-, with roads coming in at D-. One of the underlying causes to this massive problem is the near insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund which receives its funding from the Federal Gas Tax. According to the ASCE, the Trust Fund will run out of money on May 31 (barring Congressional action) because the Gas Tax hasn’t been raised to keep up with inflation since 1993.

This ongoing disaster is about more than Port Richmond and PennDOT, more than the myriad of water main breaks that pepper our area during the winter months, more than the rampant potholes which everyday and especially during this time of year wreak havoc on all of our vehicles (bikes and cars alike), more than the officials using these disrepairs to score a political point or two, more than the dozens of building collapses Philadelphia has endured in recent years and more than the hemorrhaging effect this has on our region’s overall efficiency, competitiveness and quality of life.

Eventually, these neglects begin to snowball from minor inconveniences into more pressing— potentially lethal— situations. Only God or a team of civil engineers can tell whether the two major area closures of the I-95 system due to structural deficiencies in recent years could be a omen of times to come if the roads continue to be poorly maintained. In March 2008, I-95 had to close for a few days between Girard and Allegheny because PennDOT workers stumbled upon large cracks in the support columns propping up the highway. More recently, last summer in Wilmington, I-495 was closed for over two months due to the discovery of severely tilted support columns holding the bridge up over 50 feet above the Christiana River. So far, luck has prevailed.

This is an all-encompassing, major crisis that the public is just beginning to wake up to. While some bear the pain of this neglect more than others (shoutout to our persevering neighbors in Port Richmond) and others are more responsible for causing it, this is an issue we all will have to deal with as it will inevitably continue to deteriorate before it improves. If a society is only as good as its weakest links, then there are some pretty large bridges that need repairing.