Penn Relays puts South St. detours through their paces

Between 40,000 and 60,000 people are expected to attend the oldest track and field competition in the United States this weekend. The Penn Relays in University City will be held in University City. It's the first major event to occur in the area since the closure of the South Street bridge.

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Workers continue to dismantle the South Street bridge, which has mostly disappeared from view. The annual Penn Relays cause congestion on a typical year, but this time, Penn officials say they've taken extra steps to ease traffic.

Maureen Rush is in charge of public safety at the University of Pennsylvania. She says vendors have been restricted to South Street, and there is parking available. But Rush says anyone heading to the races should take SEPTA.

Rush: Clearly the best option would be to really take public transportation and get off at 30th street or get off at University City station right behind Penn Tower hotel there.

Rush says since the South Street bridge closed, traffic congestion has increased on Chestnut street and the eastbound lanes of Market Street heading into Center City.

She also says some traffic problems that occurred immediately after the South street bridge closure have resolved themselves as drivers using I-76 found alternative routes.

Rush: In the beginning there were some issues on University Avenue and Civic Center Boulevard, that southbound exiting, but then that sort of went away.

More information:
So what if we didn't replace the South Street Bridge? It's Our City