Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Bridge reopens at last

State of play: Pedestrians can start using the bridge after a 2pm ceremony celebrating the completion of a more than two-year, $20 million repair project.

• Meanwhile, drivers will have to wait until 7am on Monday to use it.

Flashback: The bridge has been closed to vehicles since at least 2020 due to the pandemic and structural issues.

• Pedestrians haven't been able to trek across it since 2023.

Context: The roughly 600-foot-long bridge spans the Schuylkill River and provides a parallel route to I-76 and Kelly Drive.

• Plus: It's at the convergence of three major bicycle networks.

What's new: A 10.5-foot-wide pedestrian and bike path linking to MLK Drive trail.

• A railing separating the roadway from the shared-use path.
• Improved lighting.

Meanwhile, the bridge will remain a three-lane roadway, with two eastbound lanes and one westbound.

Worth noting: MLK Drive remains closed to vehicles on weekends through November.

What they're saying: Local cyclists have "sorely missed" this route over the past few years, Chris Gale, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, tells Axios.

• "There's a huge buzz in the community about this reopening."