PHILADELPHIA (AP) A major bridge has been shut down for reconstruction in Philadelphia.

While the 85-year-old South Street Bridge will be closed for the next two years, motorists will have to use other routes between downtown and West Philadelphia.

Pieces of concrete have been crumbling and falling from the South Street bridge for years, so the state Transportation Department decided to demolish the span and build a new one.

Approximately 23,000 vehicles use the bridge each weekday.

The project price tag is $67 million — about 80 percent to be paid for with federal dollars.

The bridge spans Interstate 76 — the Schuylkill Expressway — and the Schuylkill River. It also is a link to several major hospitals in West Philadelphia.

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