Plans to turn the Manayunk Bridge into an impressive half-mile, cross-river bicycle and pedestrian trail are moving forward after the construction contract was awarded to A.P. Construction, Inc. out of Blackwood, New Jersey. This adaptive reuse project, led by design team Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP (WR&A), looks to fuse Lower Merion's Cynwyd Heritage Trail with Main Street Manayunk and the Schuylkill River Trail — yes, you will soon have incredible "floating" views of the Schuylkill River. Construction is set to kick off in earnest in 30 days and a groundbreaking could take place in September. The historic Manayunk Bridge was first built in 1918 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Closed in 1986, the bridge has long been admired by the Philadelphia region — including those stuck in traffic under it's magical arches on the Schuylkill Expressway. Outside from a few brave urbex-er's, this project will finally give people a different vantage point of Schuylkill River. As Jeff Riegner, vice president of Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP told Plan Philly back in January, "The bridge is an extraordinary landmark from below. Everyone who drives the Schuylkill Expressway knows it, but I think the views from the top even exceed that."
·Contract awarded, construction on Manayunk Bridge Trail to start summer 2014 [Plan Philly]
·Manayunk Bridge is on Fast Track to a 2014 Rail-To-Trail Transformation [BCGP]
·Manayunk Bridge ready for its makeover [Philly.com]
·Interface Studios [Official]
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