Editing Interstate 676 (section)

==History==
[[File:Benjamin Franklin Bridge EB leaving Philadelphia 2.jpeg|thumb|left|I-676/US&nbsp;30 eastbound on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge leaving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge was opened on July 1, 1926, and was designated to carry US&nbsp;30 across the Delaware River.<ref name=whyy>{{cite web|url=http://www.whyy.org/tv12/secrets/bfb.html|title=Ben Franklin Bridge|publisher=[[WHYY-TV]]|access-date=2010-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402130137/http://www.whyy.org/tv12/secrets/bfb.html|archive-date=2017-04-02|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ttmap>{{cite map|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/maps/1927tt2.jpg |title=Map of New Jersey |year=1927 |publisher=Tydol Trails |access-date=February 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514153745/http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/maps/1927tt2.jpg |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }}</ref> A [[parkway]] called the Camden–Atlantic City Parkway was planned in 1932 to connect the Benjamin Franklin Bridge southeast to [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]]; this was never built.<ref name="1932plan">{{cite book|title=Regional Plan of the Philadelphia Tri-State District|publisher=Regional Planning Federation |year=1932}}</ref> After [[World War II]], freeway connections were planned on both sides of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. In Philadelphia, the Vine Street Expressway was planned to run along the Vine Street corridor to the present-day Schuylkill Expressway in 1945.<ref name=pcpc>{{cite book|title=Vine Street Expressway|publisher=Philadelphia City Planning Commission|year=1945}}</ref> The North–South Freeway was proposed in New Jersey as a connection from the bridge south along the [[New Jersey Route 42|Route&nbsp;42]] corridor.<ref name="1957news">{{cite news|title=Philadelphia's New Shore Route|last=Weart|first=William J.|date=April 21, 1957|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In 1950, the city of Philadelphia began planning the construction of the Vine Street Expressway, which would run along a depressed alignment through the city.<ref name=pcpc2>{{cite book|title=Schuylkill Expressway, Roosevelt Boulevard Expressway and Vine Street Expressway|publisher=Philadelphia City Planning Commission|year=1950}}</ref> In the 1960s, the North—South Freeway began construction through Camden. 1,289 families were displaced due the construction of the freeway, 85% of which were nonwhite families.<ref>Weingroff, Richard F. [https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/50interstate2.cfm "The Greatest Decade 1956-1966: Part 2 The Battle of Its Life"], [[Federal Highway Administration]]. Accessed November 6, 2023. "In Camden, New Jersey, I-95 bisected low-income neighborhoods, displacing 1,093 minority families (out of a total of 1,289 families), while only about 100 low-incoming housing units were built at the same time 'with the usual consequences.'""</ref>

[[File:2020-07-07 12 36 41 View north along Interstate 676 (North-South Freeway) at Exit 4 (Atlantic Avenue, Kaighns Avenue, Port Terminals Balzano) in Camden, Camden County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|right|I-676 northbound at the Atlantic Avenue/Kaighns Avenue interchange in Camden, New Jersey]]
When the [[Interstate Highway System]] was created in the 1950s, the Vine Street Expressway, Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and part of the North–South Freeway were to become a part of it.<ref name="yellowbook">{{cite map|  publisher=[[Bureau of Public Roads]] |title=General Location of National System of Interstate Highways in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania_1955_Yellow_Book.jpg|year=1955 |access-date=2010-01-11}}</ref> In New Jersey, this Interstate was initially designated as FAI Corridor&nbsp;109.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|last=Wright|first=George Cable|title=New Roads with New Numbers Will Parallel Old U.S. Routes |newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 19, 1958}}</ref> In 1958, this freeway was initially planned as I-895 and I-380 before the [[American Association of State Highway Officials]] designated it as a part of I-80S.<ref name=nyt/><ref name="PennDOT 1960">{{cite map|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Highways|title=Pennsylvania State Transportation|url=http://www.dot7.state.pa.us/BPR_PDF_FILES/MAPS/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1960bk.pdf|year=1960|section=2|access-date=2007-06-06|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311083104/http://www.dot7.state.pa.us/BPR_PDF_FILES/MAPS/Statewide/Historic_OTMs/1960bk.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Meanwhile, I-680 was designated along the present-day Schuylkill Expressway between the Vine Street Expressway and the Walt Whitman Bridge. By 1960, the Vine Street Expressway had been completed between the Schuylkill Expressway and 18th Street. The portion of I-80S in New Jersey on the North–South Freeway had opened south of Morgan Boulevard by this time.<ref name="PennDOT 1960"/> On April 16, 1963, Pennsylvania wanted to renumber its Interstate numbers. Part of this was the renumbering from I-80S into I-76 and all of its [[List of auxiliary Interstate Highways|auxiliary routes]] into I-X76. The [[Federal Highway Administration]] (FHWA) approved the request on February 26, 1964. As a result, I-80S became I-76 and I-680 became I-676.<ref name="Rambler">{{cite web|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/i76.cfm|title=Was I-76 Numbered to Honor Philadelphia for Independence Day, 1776?|publisher=Federal Highway Administration|date= 2005-01-18|work=Ask the Rambler|access-date=2007-06-06}}</ref> In 1972, the I-76 and the I-676 designations were switched onto their current routes.<ref name="AASHTO">{{AASHTO minutes |year=1972S |page=425 |access-date=October 16, 2014 }}</ref> The remainder of the New Jersey portion of I-676 between Morgan Boulevard and US&nbsp;30 was completed by the 1980s.<ref name="statefarm">{{cite map|publisher=[[State Farm Insurance]]|title= State Farm Road Atlas |year=1983|cartography=[[Rand McNally]]}}</ref>

[[File:2022-10-15 13 26 27 View west along Interstate 676 and U.S. Route 30 (Vine Street Expressway) from the overpass for North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|left|I-676/US 30 (Vine Street Expressway) westbound in Center City Philadelphia]]
There were several challenges in building the Vine Street Expressway between 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The road was to run through developed areas of Philadelphia, intersecting several streets and railroad lines. The Chinatown community organized in opposition to the highway construction through their neighborhood.<ref name=inquirer>{{cite news| title=How Chinatown rallied when development threatened to divide the neighborhood Philly History|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=February 22, 2018|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/opinion/commentary/chinatown-church-holy-redeemer-vine-street-expressway-urban-renewal-philly-history-20180222.html|access-date=January 10, 2021}}</ref> In addition, the route was to run through Franklin Square, a historically sensitive site, to connect to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. As a result, the routing was modified in 1966 to avoid many of these obstacles. The route was to avoid running through Franklin Square, leading to the eastbound direction using surface streets to access the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and a planned connector to [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Street]] was removed.<ref name=pcpc3>{{cite book|title=Regional Expressway System|publisher=Philadelphia City Planning Commission|year=1966}}</ref> In the 1970s, the proposed freeway's [[environmental impact statement]] (EIS) had to be evaluated again per new guidelines; when the new EIS was issued in 1977, it was found that more improvements were needed for mass transit in the area of the planned freeway.<ref>{{cite book|title=Interstate 676, Vine Street Expressway: Administrative Action Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement|publisher=Federal Highway Administration and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |year=1977}}</ref> To comply with this, provisions were made concerning the proposed underground [[Center City Commuter Connection]] for [[SEPTA Regional Rail]], in which the railroad tracks would pass under I-676 and residences would be built over the railroad tunnel in Chinatown.<ref name=inquirer1>{{cite news| title=Vine Street Expressway: What the Impact Will Be|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=July 10, 1981}}</ref> Construction was approved in 1986 on the Vine Street Expressway from 18th Street to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, with no provisions for elevated connections between the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the Vine Street Expressway to avoid disturbing Franklin Square.<ref name=inquirer2>{{cite news| title=Vine Street Facelift in Sight, but First a Lot of Pain |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=November 14, 1986}}</ref><ref name=inquirer3>{{cite news| title=On Vine, Piecing Together a Puzzle|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=November 15, 1987}}</ref>  This portion of the Vine Street Expressway opened to traffic on January 10, 1991, completing I-676.<ref name="opening" />

[[File:I-676-US 30 EB from 22nd Street overpass.jpeg|thumb|right|I-676/US&nbsp;30 (Vine Street Expressway) eastbound in Center City Philadelphia]]
On April 14, 2015, the [[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]] (PennDOT) began work to rebuild seven existing overpasses on the Vine Street Expressway portion of I-676. The project, which cost $64.8&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|64800000|2019}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}), was to be completed in late 2019. Since 2021, the new overpasses started to have traffic.<ref>{{cite news|last=Babay|first=Emily|title=Construction on Vine Street Expressway bridges has begun|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=April 13, 2015|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20150407_Construction_on_Vine_Street_Expressway_bridges_starts_next_week.html|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> After the remnants of [[Hurricane Ida]] passed through the area on September 1, 2021, intense rain and floodwaters from the swollen Schuylkill River flooded the expressway after drainage pumps failed. I-676 through Philadelphia remained closed for three days.<ref name=Ida>{{cite news |url=https://6abc.com/philadelphia-flooding-vine-street-expressway-hurricane-ida-schuylkill-river/10994172/ |title=Vine Street Expressway fully reopens both directions after historic Philadelphia flooding |date=September 4, 2021 |publisher=[[WPVI-TV]] |access-date=September 12, 2021}}</ref>

In 2022, the city of Philadelphia applied for federal funds to initiate a study to cap the freeway and reconnect the affected neighborhoods to Center City.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://whyy.org/articles/philly-vine-street-expressway-chinatown-federal-funds-to-cap/ |title=City to apply for funds to cap portion of Vine Street Expressway through Chinatown |date=June 6, 2022 |publisher=WHYY |access-date=June 26, 2022}}</ref> Capping the Vine Street Expressway is part of the 2017 Chinatown Neighborhood Plan.<ref>{{cite web | last=Blumgart | first=Jake | title=A new plan for Chinatown | publisher=WHYY | date=November 9, 2017 | url=https://whyy.org/articles/a-new-plan-for-chinatown/ | access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://chinatown-pcdc.org/about/chinatown-neighborhood-plan-2017/ |title=PCDC Sets Vision of Health and Equity for Next 10 Years of Chinatown |publisher=[[Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation]] |access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref> The city government selected a design in December 2023; at the time, the project was estimated to cost $160 million and be completed in the early 2030s.<ref>{{cite web | last=Perez-Castells | first=Ariana | title=A look at the design chosen to reconnect Chinatown over the Vine Street Expressway | website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] | date=December 19, 2023 | url=https://www.inquirer.com/business/chinatown-stitch-vine-street-expressway-20231219.html | access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Tanenbaum | first=Michael | title=Design chosen for Chinatown Stitch project would construct two caps above Vine Street Expressway | website=PhillyVoice | date=December 20, 2023 | url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/chinatown-stitch-cap-vine-street-expressway-676-philadelphia/ | access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> A $158.9 million federal grant was approved for the project in March 2024.<ref>{{cite web | last=MacDonald | first=Tom | title=Philadelphia secures $158 million for Chinatown Stitch project | publisher=WHYY | date=March 11, 2024 | url=https://whyy.org/articles/chinatown-stitch-676-cap-federal-funding/ | access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Stamm|first=Dan|title=Plan to ‘Stitch' Philly's Chinatown together gets $159M federal grant|publisher=WCAU-TV|location=Philadelphia, PA|date=March 11, 2024|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/transportation-and-transit/chinatown-stitch-i-676/3799643/|access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref>