Starting Monday, December 4, a section of the Schuylkill River Trail will be closed to pedestrians and cyclists, writes Ariana Perez-Castells for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

The closure will remain through the end of the year.

The river trail closure between Paine’s Park and Fairmount Water Works will allow for work on the Martin Luther King Drive Bridge, which includes installing debris shielding and scaffolding, as well as painting, according to the Philadelphia Streets Department.

This is part of a rehabilitation project that is expected to be complete by spring 2025, and cost $20.1 million in federal funds. 

Signs along the Schuylkill River Trail will reroute people to a detour behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to reconnect with Kelly Drive.

The bridge itself closed earlier this year to all traffic, and it is expected that it will remain closed until the completion of the rehabilitation project in 2025. 

Last year, officials announced a $2.5 million Pennsylvania economic development grant would go toward extending the Schuylkill River Trail to Passyunk Avenue.

This would, in turn, connect South and Southwest Philadelphia.

Read more about the Schuylkill River Trail’s closures at The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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