Philadelphia’s SEPTA gathered with elected officials and other stakeholders to kick off a major rehabilitation project on the M [Norristown High Speed Line], which will impact more than one-third of the 5,600 weekday trips that passengers take on the line.

From March 29 through May 9, shuttle buses will replace train service between Bridgeport Station and Norristown Transit Center. Train service will operate as normal between Bridgeport Station and 69th Street Transit Center.

Making Necessary Upgrades

SEPTA is making structural repairs to the Bridgeport Viaduct, a 3,525-foot-long bridge that carries the M Line over the Schuylkill River. Passengers make nearly 1,900 trips over the bridge every weekday.

When it was built in 1911, the Bridgeport Viaduct was state-of-the-art; however, after more than a century of service, it now requires major repairs to extend its life for decades to come.

“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 GM 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.”

The estimated cost of the project is $55 million, including design, support, and construction. Third-party contractor J.D. Eckman will complete the work, which includes:

• Structural steel repairs
• Concrete repairs to abutments and piers
• Bearing replacement
• Concrete deck replacement
• Maintenance catwalk replacement
• Repainting of the entire structure
• Replacement of the Norristown Transit Center stairway

Construction will take about one year to complete, with future outages planned for later this year and early next year.