The City of Harrisburg this afternoon restored the 7th Street corridor between Reilly Street and Maclay Street to two-way traffic. This portion of the corridor had been restricted to one lane in the northbound direction since late February last year for the construction project to widen 7th Street to four lanes. Though 7th Street has been restored to two-way traffic, motorists may still encounter single-lane traffic in one or both directions as construction crews complete curb work related to specifications required by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, there are two southbound lanes available to traffic this afternoon; but northbound traffic is limited to the left lane for much of the corridor, with the right lane closed off with traffic cones.
In addition to widening 7th Street to four lanes, this highway improvement project that began in September 2011includes new sidewalks, antique-style street lighting, an upgrade to the traffic signal at Maclay Street, and a new traffic signal at Reily Street. The contractor – J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Pa. – also made repairs to the sidewalk and parapet on the Maclay Street bridge over the railroad tracks.
This is a city project to improve the “northern gateway” to downtown Harrisburg. The funding split through the preliminary engineering and final design phases of the project was 80% federal and 20% city. The construction project has been totally supported by federal funds. PennDOT provides oversight for the expenditure of federal funds.