Weekend Road Warrior outlook for weekend of April 21-22

There will be very little construction and few road delays this weekend.

That said, I’ll try to help you decide whether driving or taking public transportation is the better bet.

Public transportation

On SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill East Line, track maintenance work will require passengers to board from the outbound platform between the Chestnut Hill East and Wayne Junction stops. The location change will be in effect between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. both days.

Not so bad, right?

Manayunk/Norristown Line passengers, however, will experience a real headache, especially if they’re commuting during the work week.

Since April 1, weekend inbound trains departing between Elm Street and Allegheny Stations are leaving five minutes earlier than usual. Outbound trains on the other hand, are departing between Center City and Conshohocken are leaving six minutes later and will arrive at Elm Street seven minutes later.

Monday also marked the first day the 220, 252 and 272 trains started operating three minutes later than the most current schedules now show. The change, however, only affects passengers riding between Norristown Transportation Center and Elm Street Station.

But don’t get too comfortable with that schedule.

SEPTA spokesperson Kristin Geiger said there will be another schedule change sometime in August. The changes are due to construction work to renew the catenary wire between Allegheny and Ivy Ridge Stations that dates back to 1933, she said.

“Catenary is a system of overhead power lines that provide trains with electricity,” she added.

Driving

When it comes to driving, there will be a few closures, most of them ongoing.

In Mt. Airy, Allens Lane has been closed from Germantown Avenue to Bryan Street since Monday. Detour signs are posted, but I find it most useful, if driving from Chestnut Hill, to hang a right on West Gowen Avenue.

If you don’t do this, you end up passing three one-way streets until you get to Mt. Pleasant Avenue.

On I-95, the right lane from Island Avenue to Broad Street will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.

On I-76, the left lane between I-676 and South Street will be closed for a bridge inspection from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Lastly, don’t forget that Kelly Drive will be closed with detours on Sunday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. due to a Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association regatta.