Preperations underway for Made in America Festival

FAIRMOUNT - August 24, 2012 (WPVI) -- One week from tomorrow, the Ben Franklin Parkway will be packed with live performances from Jay Z to Pearl Jam.

Preparations are already underway for Budweiser's Made in America concert on Sept. 1 and Sept 2.

Crews are fencing off the parkway to keep the paying crowd in and party-crashers out.

"It's pretty impressive. They're slowly starting to build this thing up," said Nick Siegman of Langhorne, Pa.

On Saturday, the inner lanes of the parkway close at 8:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. the entire parkway will shut down until 5:00 p.m. so crews can construct a giant gateway above the road.

There are many more road closures to come so residents will need to show ID to get in and around.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE LIST OF ROAD CLOSURES.

"It's going to be crazy - a lot of commotion but I think it's going to be good for the city," said Juwan Dill of West Philadelphia.

About 50,000 people are expected to attend each day. People in the area are used to the Fourth of July - the big crowds and a lot of traffic.

"This is completely different. They're completely cutting off access from pretty much all of Pennsylvania avenue," said Christina Molieri of Fairmount.

The event is expected to be a hit, but it's definitely hitting a sour note with parkway residents.

"Most of my neighbors are leaving for labor day weekend," said Terry McNally of Fairmount.

McNally owns a restaurant just off the parkway and lives in the neighborhood. She understands the concerns but, looking on the bright side, believes the concert will be good for her business and even better for the entire city.

"It's exciting. The acts are great and they're doing a documentary about this. We're going to get a lot of attention and that's good for Philadelphia," said McNally.

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philadelphia, music, local/state, sarah bloomquist

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