Race Street connector now links Old City to waterfront

The Race Street Connector is officially open, providing a brightly illuminated path from Old City to the waterfront, and easy access to an area many pedestrians and bicyclists once feared to tread.

It's only a short walk from 2nd and Race Streets in Old City, where the connector starts, to Columbus Boulevard and the waterfront, where it ends.

But many shunned the trek, which included passing through three poorly lit viaducts that crossed under I-95.

Now, the connector boasts new lighting, landscaping and a bike path along the entire length of the viaducts.

The project was a companion piece to the Race Street Pier, which opened earlier this year as one of the first new waterfront parks to be built in the city in decades.

The first phase focused on the south side of the street. The second phase will focus on the north side.

Mayor Nutter and officials from the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation officially opened the connector Thursday night, as part of the first phase.

Officials say the goal of the connector is to help join Old City with the Race Street Pier, and other parts of the waterfront, such as Penn's Landing.

The connector and pier will, "serve as a model for bridging the gap between neighborhoods on the west side of I-95 and the waterfront at key intersections along the central Delaware," according to a news release by the Delaware River Waterfront Corp.

Also installed is, "a live-feed, LED screen attached to the I-95 overpass over Race Street."

The screen is designed to show, "real-time abstracted images of the surface of the Delaware River and a dramatic light screen along the right-side wall of the three underpasses between 2nd and Race Street and Columbus Boulevard."

Officials hope the connector draws runners, walkers and cyclists to the Delaware River. And, they hope the link, along with the Race Street pier, will serve as a model for how to join neighborhoods on the west side of I-95 with the waterfront.

The connector project was funded with $650,000 from the William Penn Foundation, $650,000 from the Delaware River Waterfront Corp., and $120,000 from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.