SEPTA will temporarily close part of the Chestnut Hill East (CHE) Regional Rail line for 11 weeks this summer to rehabilitate five bridges along the service line.
Starting June 15, the repairs will shut down the nine stations for 11 weeks, with a reopening date scheduled for Sept. 1. Construction will continue past the reopening date through the end of the year, but the stations will be able to operate.
On Jan. 21, SEPTA held an online community meeting informing the public about the project. Attendees were able to ask questions, and many raised concerns about the lack of expanded bus …
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SEPTA will temporarily close part of the Chestnut Hill East (CHE) Regional Rail line for 11 weeks this summer to rehabilitate five bridges along the service line.
Starting June 15, the repairs will shut down the nine stations for 11 weeks, with a reopening date scheduled for Sept. 1. Construction will continue past the reopening date through the end of the year, but the stations will be able to operate.
On Jan. 21, SEPTA held an online community meeting informing the public about the project. Attendees were able to ask questions, and many raised concerns about the lack of expanded bus and shuttle service during the shutdown.
At the meeting, state Rep. Andre Carroll thanked SEPTA staff for holding the meeting and for the "opportunity to be able to communicate with the community as you guys go through this transition over the summertime."
The project's five bridges fall between Cresheim Valley Drive and Wayne Avenue and will impact service at nine stations: Wister, Germantown, Washington Lane, Stenton, Sedgwick, Mount Airy, Wyndmoor, Gravers and CHE.
"SEPTA owns and maintains 350 bridges, and many of these bridges date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s, so they're constructed at a time when technology was different and these structures require a high level of maintenance," said Michael Cuddy, project manager with Transystems. "As part of SEPTA's capital program, they have a plan to rehabilitate and restore all the structures that they own to maintain a state of good repair."
Along with extending the life of the bridges, the project will add improvements at each location. Construction on the five bridges will happen simultaneously to complete the project "as quickly as possible," Cuddy said.
The five bridges cross Wayne Avenue, Logan Street, Chew Avenue, Mt. Pleasant Avenue and Cresheim Valley Drive.
To account for the increased ridership on the Chestnut Hill West (CHW) line during the East's closure, SEPTA "will be supplementing service on Chestnut Hill West to support the expected increase in ridership. Trains will be added to the weekday and weekend schedules," according to a SEPTA spokesperson.
While the walk from the two terminus stations at Chestnut Hill West and Chestnut Hill East is a matter of minutes, as the lines progress through Mount Airy and Germantown the walk can be much longer.
"I initially suggested that providing a shuttle service between the CHE and CHW stations would be the best relief for commuters during the shutdown. This would minimize the increased need for parking at the CHW stations," said Linda Bell, president of East Mount Airy Neighbors.
In Mount Airy, Regional Rail riders on the East line who typically get on at the Washington Lane station would have to walk more than 30 minutes to Upsal station on the West line.
At the meeting Tuesday, multiple attendees asked SEPTA to add a shuttle service between the east and west stations.
"Walking may add more than 30 minutes each way to a commuter's trip," one said.
SEPTA said it will not provide shuttle service either between the stations or along the East line during the shutdown.
The Washington Metro ran a similar shuttle system to what Bell suggested while parts of the Red Line shut for maintenance over the summer. During the shutdown, an expanded shuttle service ran between the impacted stations, carrying commuters between affected stations or to the nearest operating Red Line station.
SEPTA advises affected riders to use their interactive trip planning tool on plan.SEPTA.org.