South Street Bulkhead Restoration

SRDC has contracted with a marine contractor to repair and strengthen a section of the Schuylkill River bulkhead near the South Street Bridge (pictured above). You will see this construction activity as you pass through this area. Work will mostly take place from the river and a barge anchored near the project site (pictured below). The trail will stay open during construction. 

We believe that major flooding caused the damage to the bulkhead and are happy that we are finally able to address it thanks to funding provided by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, the Commonwealth Financing Authority, and multiple private donors.

Project Update: November 18, 2025
The contractor has completed the installation of the stone sublayer and is currently installing drilled helical piles that will support hydrotex mattresses (i.e. pillow-shaped sacks filled with concrete). These mattresses will be installed over the stone sublayer to form a robust cladding along the riverbank that will stand up to the tidal river. This $2M project is progressing well and is expected to be completed in December. 

Learn more about the decades-old bulkhead and what has been done to stabilize it in this blog post: Building and Maintaining the Bulkhead.