Pope gone, huge cleanup effort underway in Center City Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Pope Francis arrived back at the Vatican Monday, leaving warm memories of his visit to the City of Philadelphia.

Of course, his visit also left a bit of a mess. Crews have been out all day cleaning up the Ben Franklin Parkway and other areas as the region goes back to normal in the wake of a historic trip.

Street sweepers echoed down the Parkway Monday afternoon as crews began disassembling the papal infrastructure.

Ian Reischmann from Local 8 tells us, "It should take us about four days to get it down and as long as the weather holds out, it should work out."

Roughly 500 stage hands and other crews will take up the floor boards and bring down the main stage and production facilities. For many of them it's been a busy two weeks.

Nunzio Gallo, also of Local 8, says, "It was the most guys we've ever had...on one site...and it was also, I guess, prestigious thing I ever did... Glad I was part of the pope."

Those who live along the Parkway awoke to a much different scene. Gone were many road blocks, and much of the trash left behind was cleared - a welcome sight for those looking to get their neighborhood back.

Fairmount resident Julio Defaria says, "I am glad it was done so quickly, so efficiently. By 10:30 the street was finally cleared and open to us. Our garage was free, so we could get in and get out."

And Adelyn Sweeney says, "It looks pretty great, to the point I am going to work now because it's not that bad. I think they did a great job cleaning everything up."

When the Parkway will reopen is still unclear. Mayor Michael Nutter couldn't put a time on it, but said crews are working around the clock to make it happen.

Mayor Nutter said, "As I'm sure all of you saw or experienced, there was a lot of infrastructure out on the Ben Franklin Parkway. It does take some time to get all of that back in its place and get it cleaned up."

So if you're heading into the area, keep in mind that the Parkway remains shut down from 21st Street to Eakins Oval.