Philadelphia Transportation Thread

[summersm343]

Article on BSL extension to the Navy Yard

Plans for a 1.5 mile extension of the Broad Street Line to the Philadelphia Navy Yard appear to be moving forward -- incrementally, at least.

Officials from the state, local and federal government -- as well as politically powerful labor leaders -- will appear Monday to tout a new study on the economic impact of the project, along with figures to outline an anticipated boost to SEPTA’s ridership numbers that it would bring.

With a price tag passing $370 million, extending the Broad Street Line would be a heavy lift. State and federal dollars would likely pay for some of the project, but local sources may have to account for up to 50 percent of the funding.

That spending would not occur in a vacuum. SEPTA has said that many other projects, including a backlog of maintenance on the existing system are competing with the extension for its money.

And it’s further unclear if extending the line will take all of those cars off the street. Many employees don’t commute from Center City, but from South Jersey and the Philadelphia suburbs.

And there’s another blue-sky project in the works -- an elevated rail over the Roosevelt Boulevard to serve what Phillymag says is the booming lower Northeast and it’s waves of new immigrants.

http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/renewed-push-for-broad-street-line/zsJokp---B7FzhouZQ0D2c/