The Democratic National Convention later this month will bring a number of road closures and highway restrictions to Philadelphia, the U.S. Secret Service announced in its release of security plans on Wednesday.
The good news, though, is that the DNC won't be anything like the infamous Pope closures, which essentially shut down entire neighborhoods ringing Center City in the "Pope Box."
Most of the road closures are in South Philadelphia, with some ramp shutdowns happening on I-95 near the Sports Complex and commercial vehicle restrictions going into effect for I-95 during the convention, which comes to town July 25 and runs through July 28. Roads will begin shutting down on Saturday, July 23.[[385908201, C]]
That morning, several closures will go into effect, according to the Secret Service:
- Permanent closures throughout the DNC:
- Broad Street from Packer Avenue to the Navy Yard/Terminal Avenue
- Pattison Avenue from 7th Street to the furthest east entrance to FDR Park
- Terminal Avenue from Broad Street to 11th Street
- 11th Street from Hartranft Street to Terminal Avenue
- Authorized vehicles only:
- Pattison Avenue from 20th Street to the furthest east entrance to FDR Park
- Hartranft Street from Broad Street to Darien Street
- Darien Street from Packer Avenue to Lurie Way
- 10th Street south of Packer Avenue
The I-76 eastbound ramp at exit 350 (Packer Avenue) will be shut down each day from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Monday, July 25 through Friday, July 29. The I-95 northbound exit 17 ramp (Broad Street) will shut down from 10 p.m. Friday, July 22 to midday Friday, July 29. The I-95 southbound exit 17 ramp (Broad Street) will also shut down for the majority of the week, allowing only special access to the Navy Yard at designated times.
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I-95 will be open to passenger vehicles during the DNC, but the highway will be closed to commercial vehicles between exit 13 (I-76/Route 291/Valley Forge) and exit 22 (I-676) beginning at noon Saturday, July 23. The highway will reopen to normal midday on Friday, July 29, officials said.
Besides the road closures, the area "within 30 Nautical Miles of downtown Philadelphia, to include FDR Park" from Monday, July 25 through Thursday, July 28, will be a "no drone zone," according to officials. There will also be waterway and airspace restrictions in place at the time. For more details, click here.
