Interstate 83 in eastern Cumberland County will be closed to through-traffic for several hours on Monday night, Feb. 18, so that construction crews can safely set bridge beams for the new Lowther Street bridge over I-83 in Lemoyne Borough. Traffic on Lowther Street is currently using a temporary structure to cross over I-83 while a new bridge is built.
This work is part of a nearly $8 million contract that was awarded March 2012 to Susquehanna Valley Construction Corporation of New Cumberland, Cumberland County, and includes: installation of a temporary bridge, removal of the original Lowther Street bridge, and construction of a new two-span bridge large enough to accommodate four lanes of mainline I-83 as well as three ramps underneath with 20-feet 10-inches of vertical under clearance.
PennDOT advises motorists traveling I-83 and Route 581 in Lemoyne that Feb. 18-19, weather permitting, they will first encounter a single-lane restriction in each direction at 9 p.m. followed by an overnight detour between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. as crews set the remaining bridge beams into place over I-83.
I-83 North will be directed off at Brandt Avenue, turn right onto Lowther Street through Lemoyne back to I-83 North. I-83 North traffic headed to Route 581 West will also follow Brandt Avenue to Lowther Street and continue on I-83 North across the Susquehanna River into Harrisburg and be directed off at Exit 44-A for 13th Street to I-83 South back across the Susquehanna River to Route 581 West.
I-83 South will be directed off at Exit 42 for Lemoyne follow Lowther Street over the interstate, turn left at 10th Street and back to I-83 South.
Route 581 East traffic headed to I-83 South will be directed to I-83 North to Exit 41-B for Highland Park, turn right onto Lowther Street through Lemoyne over the interstate and turn left at 10th Street to I-83 South.
The original single-span concrete bridge that carried Lowther Street over I-83 was built in 1952 and was considered functionally obsolete. That structure was a major contributing factor to the bottleneck on I-83 North approaching the City of Harrisburg and Route 581 West.
PennDOT expects work on the new Lowther Street bridge to be completed by the end of May 2013.
For more information on the Lowther Street bridge replacement project over I-83 in Lemoyne go to www.penndot8.com.
Source: PennDOT