South Street Bridge is falling down.
Not all of it, of course, but a chunk of the bridge's sidewalk plummeted down to the Interstate-76 highway below it, closing the area for several hours last thursday.
City engineers have replaced the missing section with metal plating, and plan to fill in the concrete next month. But serious reconstruction plans appear to be on hold for several years.
This seems a little ridiculous.
City engineers attribute the falling debris to the structure's age, a cold winter and recent wet weather. Given that the bridge can only get older and more damaged during the four to five years that the city won't be fixing it, wouldn't it be better to begin repairs as soon as possible?
The overall need for repairs to the South Street Bridge is not new, despite recent attention. In 2001, the city announced plans to fix not only the decrepit structure, but also to turn it into "something the citizens of Philadelphia...can take pride in."
That reconstruction was meant to be completed in 2006. Since it has yet to start, Penn students and Philadelphia pedestrians alike have begun to wonder whether or not they should feel safe when crossing the bridge, which has been known to shake during periods of heavy traffic.
This year, the South Street Bridge celebrates 80 years of existence. At this point it should have undergone repairs even if debris had not fallen onto the highway below it. The University deserves praise for taking a proactive role in repair plans, but those plans need to become fully realized, and quickly. This time, the standard postponements and missed deadlines could put citizens at risk.
