Cars have not crossed the North Narberth Avenue bridge since 2019. For seven years the only traffic on it has been people on foot, people walking bikes, and people pushing strollers over the Amtrak and SEPTA tracks. Those people are the last ones still using the bridge, and Borough Council has recommended removing their access for part of the rebuild.
With the footpath gone, the walk between North and South Narberth would depend on two older crossings: the pedestrian underpass at Narberth Station and the North Wynnewood Avenue rail tunnel. SEPTA lists the station as not ADA accessible. That one fact explains why a bridge project has the borough drafting resolutions to SEPTA.
What Council Recommended, and Why
The borough's bridge project page says Council reviewed design changes prepared by the contractor, Road-Con, and recommended the option to temporarily eliminate pedestrian access during construction. The borough projects that the change would save about eleven months on the schedule and reduce costs. It is subject to review and approval by PennDOT and Amtrak.
The manager's report in the October 15, 2026 Council packet says the recommendation came at the September Work Session. It ties the redesign to "unforeseen circumstances limiting the originally approved site access." According to the packet, staff and the project team are still producing the studies and documents PennDOT and Amtrak need to approve both the change and the design of alternative pedestrian and ADA routes.
This replaces an earlier promise. The project FAQ still says pedestrians and cyclists would be able to cross on a path narrowed to at least 5 feet, with cyclists possibly needing to dismount. In January 2026 the borough said walkers and cyclists would have access "throughout all project stages." The September recommendation is the current proposal, and the older wording has not yet been removed from the page.
The trade-off was discussed in numbers at the September 22 Infrastructure Committee meeting. Citizen Portal's AI-generated summary of that meeting reports the borough manager's ballpark figures. A dedicated temporary pedestrian bridge would have cost roughly $700,000 net above base costs. Keeping the original phased plan carried about $250,000 in excess cost. The closure option, called "option 3," came in roughly $250,000 below the pedestrian-bridge option. The same summary says the closure would last about 15 months. Citizen Portal labels its summaries as AI-generated and warns they may contain errors. Treat these figures as meeting talk, not adopted budget lines.
Where the Plan Stands
| Question | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Has Council backed closing the footpath? | Recommended at the September Work Session |
| Have PennDOT and Amtrak approved it? | Not yet; studies still being prepared |
| Earliest possible closure | January, pending approvals, per the Sept. 22 meeting summary |
| How long it would last | About 15 months, per the same summary |
| Pedestrian count results | Still being analyzed as of Oct. 15 |
| Alternative routes | Under study; no final detour published |
| Bridge completion | Required contract completion date of July 24, 2029 |
The manager also said at that meeting that the borough cannot move ahead with demolition or the closure option until PennDOT and Amtrak sign off. Equipment, catenary work, and drilling visible at the site now are preparatory work, not demolition. If the agencies reject the detour and ADA plan, staff could go back to another option. The 2029 completion date weighs on that choice.
Keeping the footpath open does not guarantee it stays open. The meeting summary says inspectors have not checked the underside of the bridge recently because it closed to vehicles. Deterioration in the decking might only show up during partial demolition, and vibration could force temporary pedestrian closures even under the original plan.
The Count That Will Inform the Decision
To see how many people actually use the bridge and when, the borough set up video equipment on the construction site for a seven-day pedestrian count from September 21 through September 28. At the October 15 Council meeting, staff reported that counting began on Tuesday instead of Monday because of a Jewish holiday. Rain affected the weekend counts, and staff planned to analyze sample weekdays and weekend days. That is according to Citizen Portal's summary of the October 15 meeting. No numbers have been published yet. Those numbers will help shape how big the shuttle or detour has to be.
Public comment has focused on that question. At the September 17 Council meeting, according to Citizen Portal's summary of that meeting, a resident raised the effect on parents, seniors, and people using wheelchairs, strollers, and bicycles, and urged an ADA-compliant alternative before any January closure. Council sent alternatives to committee for study. On September 22, residents told the committee that a shuttle is not the same as being able to walk across. One submitted a resident survey and asked for a new vote.
The Two Crossings That Would Carry the Load
The meeting summaries name the alternatives under study: the Wynnewood tunnel, a Bowman Avenue detour, and shuttle service. Options mentioned include SEPTA, a paratransit service, and Uber or Lyft rides billed to a borough code. Under the federal funding rules that run through PennDOT, FHWA standards accept a shuttle as an ADA-compliant detour. Whether the borough gets reimbursed depends on the agreement terms.
The North Wynnewood Avenue road tunnel under the tracks was built in 1879, according to the Narberth historical archive. On October 15, a resident raised concerns about extra foot traffic through it, especially for schoolchildren and people using mobility devices. Staff responded that ADA access would be handled through a shuttle or on-demand service.
The other crossing is the station underpass. The borough's own draft resolution describes it as "an important connector between North Narberth and South Narberth, allowing residents to travel through the pedestrian underpass underneath the rail line." At the October 15 meeting, staff reported continued coordination with SEPTA on possible interim improvements in the tunnel. They noted the station is not in SEPTA's capital plan.
Why a Bridge Project Turned Into a SEPTA Request
The Finance Administration Committee voted 3–0 on October 14 to recommend a resolution urging SEPTA to include Narberth Station in long-term Regional Rail upgrades, including accessibility and level boarding, per Citizen Portal's recap. The resolution was on the October 15 Council agenda. The draft in the October 15 Council packet asks SEPTA about two things:
- Near-term upgrades with SEPTA and Amtrak so people can "more easily walk, use wheeled devices (such as strollers and walkers), and transport bicycles through the underpass and to and from station platforms."
- A longer-term study of high-level platforms and accessible routes to the platforms, including the process, scope, and possible cost of that study.
The idea is not new. The Narberth Parks Plan, adopted as Resolution No. 2025-06, included an accessible ramp to the underpass as a future improvement for the Station Circle area. The plan noted that it would need SEPTA and Amtrak as partners. The draft also says the station sits on a curved section of track, which makes accessibility engineering harder. The draft asks for information and partnership. It does not fund a design, and nothing in it changes the underpass before January.
What the Finished Bridge Is Supposed to Offer
The finished bridge has a longer timeline and a better walking crossing. According to the project FAQ, the new sidewalk will be more than 7 feet wide with no barrier from the roadway, and the approaches will widen at all four corners. The September 22 summary says the current bridge is grandfathered under ADA rules. The new design still won't meet slope standards but qualifies under a "technically infeasible" exception reviewed with PennDOT, and it improves on today's slopes.
Until then, the borough posts work notices on the project page. The latest is from October 16, when Henkels & McCoy was on site from midnight to 4 a.m. to move a Zayo Bandwidth fiber-optic cable on Amtrak's catenary structure. Portions of Elmwood Avenue and South Narberth Avenue have been closed to through traffic since January 19, 2026, and will stay closed until the project is finished. The borough asks questions to go to [email protected] or 610-664-2840. PennDOT and Amtrak approval, the published pedestrian count, and a named detour route are the next updates to look for there.
If the bridge timeline affects a decision about a home on either side of the tracks, the Damon Michels Team works out of Narberth and can talk through what the construction schedule means for showings, timing, and getting around the neighborhood day to day. Contact Us.
