A 200-foot-long pedestrian bridge connecting trails at Wissahickon Valley Park is now open to the public, giving visitors improved accessibility and an observation deck at one of the city's most scenic sites.
Friends of the Wissahickon, the nonprofit that helps care for the 1,800-acre park, cut the ribbon on the bridge Wednesday to mark the completion of the $3.5 million restoration project. The initiative included stabilizing the stream channel along the Wissahickon Creek, where years of storm-related erosion led to the collapse of the old footbridge a decade ago.
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Construction of the new bridge began in May, resulting in months of nearby road closures and detoured trails. Friends of the Wissahickon said normal traffic and trail access has been restored.
The pedestrian bridge connects the park's Orange and White trails, which lead to Forbidden Drive near the Valley Green Inn. Visitors now have a crossing point that removes the need for them to walk along the narrow path of Valley Green Road to navigate the trail system.
The observation platform on the bridge offers sweeping views of the park's schist formations and the Valley Green Bridge, which is set to undergo its own restoration as part of a federally funded project.
Friends of the Wissahickon said improvements made to the creek's stream channel and bank will slow erosion caused by storms and prevent discharge of sediments. The Wissahickon Creek provides drinking water for about one-third of Philadelphia residents. The project also restored a riparian buffer along the creek with more than 200 native plants.
Just north of the new bridge, an approach has a trailhead with stones that will help contain the surrounding hillside and better direct stormwater. The area around the bridge also still has a staircase that was installed by the city to restore some access to the path from an upper parking lot on Valley Green Road.
About $1.3 million for the project came from private foundations and individual donors. The rest came from federal, state and city funding.
Wissahickon Valley Park is Philadelphia's second largest, behind Fairmount Park, and has more than 50 miles of trails through woodland divided by the creek. Forbidden Drive is considered the park's most inviting and scenic trail, passing a series of local landmarks along a five-mile stretch of the creek running from Ten Box to the Cedars House.