With about 12,000 cars using it on an average day, the Mulberry Street Bridge’s closure on Wednesday will be a big interruption in Harrisburg.
“We did make a decision… to close the bridge to all traffic, and the advantage of that is its going to allow us to do the major components of the bridge in one construction season,” says Mike Keiser of PennDOT.
Crews will be doing repairs and replacing the concrete deck on the bridge, as well as a new concrete barrier and pedestrian railings. The bridge is expected to be closed until late December.
“This is probably one of the easiest ways to get from the Hill to downtown,” says Josh Prince, who often walks on the bridge.
The city says it has improved crosswalks on Cameron Street for pedestrians to use. Cars can use an alternate route onto 13th and Market Streets and trucks are asked to use the State Street Bridge.
“It’ll be challenging to endure the construction for the users, but when we come off the project you’ll have a bridge here that’s going to need minimal maintenance for years to come,” says Keiser.