[PhilliesPhan]

City to apply for funds to cap portion of Vine Street Expressway through Chinatown

Philadelphia is taking steps to cap a portion of the Vine Street Expressway that cuts through Chinatown, a long sought-after upgrade that supporters say would help right historic inequities, while making the neighborhood a safer and healthier place to live and work.

In partnership with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, the city will soon apply for a federal grant through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. The new initiative is an offshoot of President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill that’s designed to improve roadways that create barriers to “mobility, access, or economic development,” according to the program’s website.

Christopher Puchalsky, director of strategic initiatives with the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability, said the city is seeking a planning grant through the program, which is slated to end in fiscal year 2026.

The grant would be used to develop a final concept for the project, which is expected to address an area between 9th and Broad Streets, including where those blocks cross Vine Street. The funding would also go towards determining what kind of project is possible from an engineering and economic standpoint, he said.

Read more at: https://whyy.org/articles/philly-vin...-funds-to-cap/

If realized, this will be transformative for the city. My only criticism is this: why stop at Broad? Everything between 9th and 22nd Streets should be capped, and the 15th/16th Street exit should be replaced by scissor ramps to free up a large, developable parcel between 15th, 16th, Vine, and Callowhill Streets.