Project aims to reconnect Chinatown by partially covering Vine Street Expressway
The plan to address that community scar is known as the Chinatown Stitch.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Major changes could be coming to Chinatown as Philadelphia leaders look for ways to minimize the disruption that the Vine Street Expressway caused that community.
The city worked with PennDOT and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) to create a plan that involved covering the interstate in that area.
That plan, chosen with community feedback on three options, was unveiled on Tuesday.
With 100,000 cars traveling the Vine Street Expressway daily, members of the Chinatown community have for decades viewed the highway placement as an injustice.
"This highway since it was constructed, constitutes a scar in our Chinatown neighborhood," said Mike Carroll, the deputy managing director of the Philadelphia Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability.
The plan to address that community scar is known as the Chinatown Stitch. It proposes covering the expressway that divides the two sides of Chinatown.
"We call this project the Chinatown Stitch because it will sew together the disconnected parts of Chinatown," said Carroll.
The project would cover two and a half blocks of the expressway with another half-block left open for ventilation of the interstate. It would begin at 10th and Vine streets, fully covering the expressway from 10th to 11th streets and from 12th to 13th streets.
Half of the block between 11th and 12th would be left open for ventilation purposes.
"Essentially, what we're going to do is build a deck, a bridge if you will," said Carroll, explaining the plan to build over the interstate in a similar fashion to projects happening over Interstate 95.
"This will be right in the heart of Chinatown where you can have a space the community can have access to," said Philadelphia City Councilmember Mark Squilla (D - District 1).
The plan was made possible by the Biden administration's Reconnecting Communities pilot program. It provides federal funds for projects like the Chinatown Stitch.
It's the type of project John Chin, who grew up in Chinatown and is now the executive director of PCDC, never thought he'd see.
"1966 was the year that our community got word that there was a big plan to build this highway through Chinatown," said Chin. "The elders of our community said, 'You can't fight City Hall.'"
That's not the thought anymore.
"What changed is the elected officials started paying attention," Chin said.
Now, Chinatown is in the midst of another fight, this time against a proposal for a new 76ers arena.
"We're afraid this community won't be around in 20 years if the arena comes," said Chin.
READ | Up close: Debate over proposed 76ers arena near Chinatown heats up | Nydia Han talks with both sides
On Tuesday, though, Chin and others in the community focused on a celebration of the plan to reunite the two sides of Chinatown by righting a wrong.
"The journey to get here spans 57 years," said Chin.
The project has two phases. Phase 1 is expected to cost $160 million, much of which the city hopes to get in federal funds.
Over the next year, engineers and environmentalists will work on bringing the plan to life. Construction likely won't start until 2027.
If all goes smoothly, the project could take three to four years, giving it a completion date sometime in 2030 or 2031.
The city urges the public to continue offering feedback and to keep track of the progress on the Chinatown Stitch update page.
