PennDOT District 8 today announced that May 20, weather permitting, construction crews will set large sign structures over Interstate 83 in advance of upcoming traffic changes south of Harrisburg at the I-83 and Route 581 interchange in Lemoyne Borough.
PennDOT advises I-83 motorists that during the overnight hours Tuesday, May 20, they may encounter 15-minute traffic stoppages northbound and southbound as crews set overhead sign trusses prior to implementing the new traffic patterns and ramp configurations.
The following night Wednesday, May 21, crews will restrict northbound I-83 traffic to a single lane, reset concrete barrier and place new pavement markings in order to shift northbound I-83 traffic onto the newly widened portion of I-83 North. At this time, the new ramp from I-83 North to Lowther Street in Lemoyne at Exit 41-B will be opened to traffic, and the existing ramp will be closed.
PennDOT advises northbound I-83 motorists headed to Lowther Street that the new exit is prior to the Route 581 East merge and is approximately one-quarter mile before the old ramp. Similarly, eastbound Route 581 traffic to Lowther Street will no longer be permitted to use the existing Exit 41-B from I-83 North once the existing ramp is closed. Eastbound Route 581 traffic to Lowther Street will be required to use Exit 6-B to I-83 South then take the existing Exit 41-B to Lowther Street.
Then during the nighttime hours of Thursday, May 22, crews will restrict I-83 South traffic to a single lane and place pavement markings in order to shift southbound I-83 traffic to the area currently carrying the temporary northbound I-83 lanes. This will create a work zone along the existing I-83 South shoulder and permit crews to reconstruct and widen along I-83 South.
Once southbound I-83 traffic is shifted to the east, motorists will no longer have access to Lowther Street at Exit 41-B. Southbound I-83 traffic to Lowther Street will be required to exit at Exit 42 for Lemoyne and use Lowther Street to access the Highland Park area. Southbound I-83 motorists to Lowther Street are advised that Exit 42 is approximately one mile before the existing Exit 41-B.
PennDOT advises Route 581 motorists that the following week during the overnight hours Tuesday, May 27, they will encounter 15-minute traffic stoppages eastbound and westbound as crews set overhead sign trusses in advance of the new traffic patterns and ramp configurations.
Then during the nighttime hours of Wednesday, May 28, crews will reset concrete barrier and place pavement markings to modify the traffic pattern on the ramp from Route 581 East to I-83 South and the exit to Lowther Street. In this new traffic pattern, eastbound Route 581 traffic to Lowther Street will be required to use Exit 6-C for Lemoyne. Exit 6-C will exit along with traffic to I-83 South. The ramp will widen to two lanes shortly after the exit, with the right ramp lane exiting to Lowther Street. Southbound I-83 traffic will use the left ramp lane for Exit 6-B to merge onto I-83 South. As part of this traffic switch, the existing stop condition at the bottom of the Route 581 East ramp to I-83 South will be replaced with a yield condition.
All of these ramp modifications are being made to eliminate the conflicts associated with the existing, short weaving areas of entering and exiting traffic. Once implemented, these new ramp movements will be permanent and traffic will continue to use the new ramps through completion of construction.
PennDOT advises motorists to use caution when traveling through the work zone and to watch for the installation of new signing that will advise of the new ramp movements. This work is weather sensitive, and adverse conditions could further postpone implementation of the new traffic patterns.
In advance of the traffic changes, PennDOT has developed several short videos depicting the existing ramp movements being eliminated and the upcoming traffic changes. These videos are available at the following link: http://www.i-83beltway.com/ess1/i83pa581local.html
This webpage also describes several more ramp configuration and traffic movement modifications that will be made in the coming months.
This work is part of the $22.1 million contract that was awarded to J.D. Eckman Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, which will make several safety and congestion mitigation improvements to the I-83/Route 581 interchange and adjacent ramps. This project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2015.