Trail Detour Notice
Fairmount Park Conservancy is restoring the historic Skew Arch Bridge, which crosses over the Trolley Trail in West Fairmount Park. Through November 2024, the trail segment under the bridge will be closed for the safety of trail users and restoration staff. Trail users should follow the Conservancy’s detour signs to stay on the Trolley Trail.
About the Skew Arch Bridge Restoration
Originally known as the Old Falls Road Trolley Bridge, the Skew Arch in West Fairmount Park was built in the late 1800s for the Fairmount Park Transit Company’s trolley line, which opened in 1897. Of unique engineering significance, the bridge is constructed of 14 individual brick ribs, set at a 30 degree skew. Fittingly, this bridge crosses over the present-day multiuse Trolley Trail, which follows the path of the former trolley route to explores the park’s rich nature and history.
Now over a century old, this bridge is in need of specialized maintenance. Fairmount Park Conservancy’s facilities and conservation crews will spend the next several weeks cleaning and restoring the areas of the bridge in most need of attention. Although care will be taken to minimize the impact on the Trolley Trail and its users, the work will require closure of the area beneath the bridge for the safety of the public and of those conducting the work.
The work will encompass the removal of graffiti from the bridge’s stone abutments and the relaying of about 50 loose, damaged or missing bricks.
