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Market-Frankford Line

5th Street/Independence Hall Station Reopens

September 2, 2020

In case you missed it, 5th Street/Independence Hall Station reopened to customers on Monday, August 31, 2020.

The station had been closed since early April 2020 when SEPTA began operating our Lifeline Service during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Construction is still ongoing, and we anticipate the project being complete – and the station fully-reopened – later this year when we plan to hold a formal ribbon cutting. 

Construction at the station was halted on March 20, 2020 when a state ban on construction activities was put in place. Crews were granted permission to perform emergency street-level waterproofing beginning in early April, but construction on the station itself did not resume until May 4, when non-emergency construction activities were allowed to resume. With the station closed, crews have completed work in passenger areas, so we could reopen the station for customers as soon as possible while minimizing the impact of continued construction on passenger flow. 

The Station was made ADA compliant in the early 2000s with the installation of elevators but it had not been rehabilitated since 1974 when the station was renovated for the Bicentennial. 

The goal of this project is to transform the station and street-level amenities into a transportation hub with modern amenities that is worthy of its location in the heart of one of nation’s most important historic districts.   

Timeline

5th Street Station was formally renamed 5th Street / Independence Hall Station on June 30, 2016 

SEPTA issued Notice to Proceed in November 2018 and broke ground in January 2019 

Anticipated completion: December 2020 

Highlights of the project scope include

Mitigation of water infiltration that had been a longstanding problem at the station 

Installation of new glass headhouses on the northwest and southwest stairs 

New passenger platforms 

New floor and wall tiles on the Mezzanine and the corridors connecting the platform to street level 

New architectural treatments – including bluestone pavers historic to the surrounding area 

New curb cuts and drainage lines 

New LED lighting 

New farelines and cashiers booths 

New fire and security systems 

General structural repairs 

Between now and the anticipated ribbon cutting later this year, the following work remains to be completed 

Installation of aesthetic column covers 

Completion of Northeast and Southeast stairs and corridors 

Installation of new lighting 

Installation of signage 

Completion of cashiers booths 

Installation of fire and security 

Completion of back of house mechanical room renovations 

The majority of work will take place at night.