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On Thursday, April 15th, we joined together with ASCE Philadelphia to host a lunchtime virtual meeting. Erica Antoine, PE (Burns Engineering) and WTS Philadelphia President, was one of the featured speakers presenting her project, The Rehabilitation of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Market-Frankford Line (MFL) 5th Street/Independence Hall Station. She and Jack McElwee (SEPTA) spoke about recent station improvements, constructed between April 2019 to March 2021.

At the street level, improvements include new glass headhouses, glass pavers and curb bumpouts. There are new architectural finishes at station level where the bicentennial (1976) porcelain wall panels were removed and replaced by brick to establish a colonial architecture style. Historic images that decorate the walls welcome visitors to Independence Mall. Behind the scenes, there were waterproofing improvements, structural repairs, system upgrades and updates. To aid logistics, material entered and left the site via rail. To answer questions regarding the project's challenges and lessons learned during the design and construction phases, the presenters were joined by Chris Hopkins (Michael Baker International) and Frank Pizzi (AP Construction).

Photos from the virtual event are here! A recording of this event is available until the end of June 2021 here!