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Old Posted Oct 25, 2019, 3:21 AM
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hammersklavier hammersklavier is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan View Post
Like others, I'm happy with the current plan. Capping an entire city block is no insignificant event! While I do wish that the capping area could've extended as far south as Dock Street, I'm more interested in capping the Vine Street Expressway between 9th and 22nd Streets.

In my opinion, 95 should have never entered PA, let alone Philadelphia County. If I were in control and could get the federal support necessary, 95 would run along the Jersey Turnpike in its entirety. This would allow for 95 to be removed between the Girard Avenue and Oregon Avenue interchanges. The former stretch of 95 running south from the Oregon Ave interchange would become I-495, and the stretch running north from the Girard Avenue interchange would become I-295. Not only would this allow for 95 to be removed in Philly, but it would also allow for it to be removed from Wilmington, which caused a LOT of damage to its downtown area.

The aforementioned project, along with those that I'm about to mention, would run in the tens of billions; however, we'd receive better-connected cities in the end. Other projects:

-Tunnel the Schuylkill Expressway from south of the Spring Garden interchange to just north of the Schuylkill River via 31st and 32nd Streets. This will allow for an expanded six-lane roadway between the Roosevelt Expressway and the Walt Whitman Bridge, as the tunnel would hold six lanes.

-Tunnel the VSE under the Schuylkill River from 22nd Street to the new Schuylkill Expressway tunnel, via a new interchange. Create a new direct interchange to the Ben Franklin Bridge, and give 6th, 7th, and Race Streets road diets, respectively.

-Cap the VSE between 9th and 22nd Streets. Eliminate the WB 15th/16th Street interchange and create a new, simpler interchange to allow for the development of the large parcel it currently takes up.
While we're in this realm, something I would do with untold billions of dollars would be to sink the entire 95/VSE interchange. Yep, tunnelize the whole thing and only let it come back up to the surface up by the Frankford Arsenal. This allows for the opening up of extensive development opportunities in the River Wards, reconnecting them to the river, as well as potentially a greenway elsewhere where it's needed, like Port Richmond.

This isn't just something harebrained, either. Sydney is doing the exact same thing right now.
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