SEPTA To Begin M Line Rehabilitation Project March 29

Bridgeport Viaduct

SEPTA

PHILADELPHIA - SEPTA will begin a major rehabilitation project along the M Line on Sunday, March 29.

From March 29 to May 9, SEPTA says train service will be replaced with shuttle buses as crews work on major rehabilitative work on the M Line. During that time, the Bridgeport Viaduct will receive structural repairs. Built in 1911, the bridge measures 3,525 feet long and carries the M Line over the Schuylkill River.

The project is estimated to cost $55 million. This includes design, support, and construction, says SEPTA. The project work includes structural steel repairs, bearing replacement, concrete deck repayment, concrete repairs to abutments and piers, maintenance catwalk replacement, structure repainting, Norristown Transit Center stairway replacement. The entire project is expected to take a year to complete. Additional service outages are expected later this year and early next year.

SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. said, “The Bridgeport Viaduct is more than a bridge on SEPTA’s M Line. . . It is a true gateway carrying not just trains, but people getting to work, school, and home – connecting Montgomery County to Delaware County and beyond. We are proud to make this investment on behalf of our riders and the residents of Bridgeport and Norristown.”

“This 115-year-old viaduct is SEPTA’s third-longest bridge, and this work is needed for us to be able to continue M service between Bridgeport and Norristown,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer. “This project is being completed in phases to avoid an outage this summer when Philadelphia hosts FIFA World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game, and America’s 250th birthday celebration.”