MIDDLETOWN, DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. -- Driving in Central Pennsylvania will soon get easier, according to PennDOT, but it's going to take years to fully see the difference.
Governor Wolf and PennDOT announced $533 million worth of roadway projects in our area will span the next decade.
You can see Route 283 behind me. Over the next couple years, it will undergo major reconstruction, PennDOT's biggest project, to break up the traffic congestion. It's a roadway PennDOT says nearly 60,000 people travel daily.
"A reconstruction of PA 283, so we're going to start here at the PA Turnpike and were going to run down to the Lancaster County line. It's about 6 and a half miles that includes some work with the interchange here itself," said Mike Keiser, the executive of PennDOT District 8.
Preparations now, like rebuilding three bridges, so that next spring, the major reconstruction, replacing the highway, can take place to help with your commute.
That roadway work is part of a PennDOT master plan for District 8 which encompasses Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties.
217 projects scheduled for district 8 costing 533 million dollars. Projects believed to be necessary by state officials.
"We're well aware that many Pennsylvanians are dealing with very old roads that sorely need repairs," said Leslie Richards, secretary, PennDOT.
"The places they're focused on right now are real problem areas, and we're investing a lot of money in trying to make Pennsylvania's roadways better, bridges safer," said Governor Tom Wolf.
The funding for all of the roadway improvements comes from Act 89 which increased the gas tax in Pennsylvania.
"It's a lot of infrastructure that we really needed to be doing years ago, but fortunately we're at the point where we have the revenues so we can get this kind of work finished," said Keiser.
The Route 283 project should be complete by 2020, and PennDOT says drivers will be able to commute with much less congestion.