August 11, 2026
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The nearly 100-year-old University Avenue Bridge will undergo repairs for the next four months after PennDOT classified the span across the Schuylkill River as in 'poor' condition.
The University Avenue Bridge will be reduced to one lane in both directions from Monday until Tuesday, Dec. 15, as the nearly century-old structure undergoes repairs.
Closures will be enforced 24/7, which will likely cause "significant backups and delays” during the four-month span, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said. Drivers are advised to allow for extra time when traveling near the area.
PennDOT has classified the bridge that connects West Philadelphia and Grays Ferry across the Schuylkill River as in "poor" condition due to its deteriorating steel superstructure, which has experienced corrosion over the decades since it was last refurbished, according to PennDOT Deputy Communications Director Brad Rudolph.
Construction crews with Loftus Construction of King of Prussia will perform repairs to the bridge’s stringers, floor beams and diaphragms and clean, seal and fortify the structure’s operator towers to deter vandalism.
The project will bring the bridge out of "poor" status and is being funded entirely by the state as part of a $16.2 million project from PennDOT to overhaul 14 bridges in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
North- and south-bound traffic will utilize the southbound lanes while work on the northbound lanes is underway. Traffic patterns will switch to the other side of the bridge when crews begin working on the southbound lanes.
The University Avenue Bridge was designed in 1925 by renowned Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret, who also designed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Rodin Museum and the original Barnes Foundation in Merion. It was constructed as a drawbridge four years later and was reconstructed in 1985, PennDOT said.
The bridge was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1993 and to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, but has largely fallen into disrepair in the decades since. Its original bronze doors and electrical elements have been stolen, its surfaces have been a hotbed for graffiti and vandalism and the windows in the previous operator towers have been shattered.
Today, the 546-foot long University Avenue Bridge carries over 36,000 vehicles every day. A petition that was published last month on Change.org implored PennDOT and local lawmakers to fix the bridge’s infrastructure and "secure the site from further destruction."
"Our communities deserve safe, respected, and structurally sound infrastructure," the petition said. "We demand that PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia treat this historic structure with the same respect shown to the Ben Franklin Bridge."
