SEPTA begins rehabbing Bridgeport viaduct, M light-rail line

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) late last week kicked off a $55 million rehabilitation project on the Bridgeport viaduct, a 3,525-foot-long bridge that carries M Line light-rail service across the Schuylkill River.

Through May 9, SEPTA is replacing M Line train service with shuttle buses between the Bridgeport Station and Norristown Transit Center, both in Montgomery County, SEPTA officials said in a press release. Light-rail service will operate as usual between Bridgeport Station and 69th Street Transit Center in Delaware County.

M Line trains cross the bridge nearly 1,900 times a weekday, representing more than a third of the line's total weekday trips. Built in 1911, the viaduct requires major structural repairs to extend its service life, SEPTA officials said.

Third-party contractor J.D. Eckman will complete structural steel repairs, concrete repairs to abutments and piers, bearing replacement, concrete deck replacement, maintenance catwalk replacement, Norristown Transit Center stairway replacement and repainting the entire structure.

Construction will take about a year to complete and is being done in phases. Future service outages are slated for later this year and early 2027. The work is being done in phases to avoid service outage this summer, when Philadelphia will host FIFA World Cup matches, the Major League Baseball's All-Star game and the nation's 250th birthday celebration, said SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer.