Roosevelt Boulevard Subway

The Roosevelt Boulevard Subway is a proposed SEPTA Metro line that would run along Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Roosevelt Boulevard Subway
Roosevelt Boulevard, built with a wide median intended for use by a future transit line
Overview
Status	Proposed
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Stations	13 (proposed)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	SEPTA Metro
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Technical
Character	Underground and surface
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Rockhill–Neshaminy Mall Old Lincoln Southampton Woodhaven Red Lion Welsh–Grant Pennypack Creek Rhawn Cottman Bustleton Pratt Adams Tacony Creek Rising Sun North 9th Erie ← to Fern Rock T.C. to NRG or 8th Street →   Surface buses connect at all stations Source

The line has been proposed in various forms for over a century, the idea originally dating to 1913. The most recent study, conducted in 2003, envisions the service as a branch of the Broad Street Line that would draw over 124,000 daily riders and thereby divert over 83,000 car trips.

History

The route was first proposed in 1913 as part of the Broad Street Subway line from Adams Avenue.

2003 study

Cost estimates ranged between $2.5 and $3.4 billion in year 2000 dollars. Largely dependent on if constructing all stations in open cuts, rather than strictly underground, was feasible. It was estimated to draw 124,523 daily boardings, approximately the current ridership of the Broad Street Line, and divert 83,300 daily automobile trips.

The project however did not move forward due to lack of local financing.

2020s

Erie station is the proposed junction between the Broad Street Line and the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway.

In a public meeting hosted by Pennsylvania Rep. Jared Solomon, representatives from PennDOT and the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure discussed the project, which has long been called for as a way to better connect Northeast Philadelphia to Center City and make one of the city's most dangerous roads safer.

Ashwin Patel, a senior manager at PennDOT, said at the meeting that the agency would study what is feasible — whether it be a subway, an elevated rail line or more dedicated bus routes. That exploration would be done as an expansion of the city-administered Route for Change program for Roosevelt Boulevard, released in spring 2021.

In June 2023, the Philadelphia City Council announced it would hold hearings on the proposed subway following the collapse of an I-95 overpass that severely impacted highway travel in Northeast Philadelphia. The hearings, held on October 11, were attended by more than half a dozen state and city officials, transit experts, and residents, during which it was reported that PennDOT would include a subway in studies to evaluate transit alternatives on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Proposed construction

When studied in detail in 2003, a number of alignments and construction options were considered. These included running within the median of a highway that would replace the Boulevard, an alternate route that would follow and replace the current SEPTA Regional Rail Fox Chase Line, and an at grade route that would function similarly to the city's subway–surface trolley lines.

In the 2003 study's preferred alignment, the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway would split east from the Broad Street Line underground at Erie station, using an already extant flying junction with the express tracks. It would then tunnel to Roosevelt Boulevard and be constructed cut and cover until Blue Grass Road near the northern edge of Philadelphia. The line would then run aboveground and an elevated structure would extend nearly to the county line. Additionally, a cut and cover extension of the Market–Frankford Line would be constructed under Bustleton Avenue, north from Frankford Transportation Center, to interchange with the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway.