Cracks in new South Street bridge won’t delay opening

Contractor will pay for repairs, not the public

There’s been a snag in the $67 million dollar project to reconstruct the South Street Bridge that links West Philadelphia to Center City.

Streets Department Deputy Commissioner Steven Buckley says harsh winter weather conditions are to blame for cracks that developed on two new support piers. He says the cracks were discovered in December and are being fixed at no cost to taxpayers.

“They did occur basically there was some minor water infiltration during the pours and the water infiltration caused some damage when ice formed. All of the costs are being born by the contractor whose responsibility was for the incident and it will not cost taxpayers a dime. And it won’t delay the project and it will not compromise the structurally integrity of the new bridge.”

The bridge is expected to open by Thanksgiving.