New Bridge Helps Clear the Way for Rebuilding, Widening I-83 East of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf Administration today announced that construction of the new bridge carrying the Union Deposit Road over Interstate 83 in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, is essentially complete and all daytime traffic restrictions have been removed as of 4:30 AM.
Some construction work such as installing mast arms for nearby traffic signals will continue at night and not interfere with daytime traffic patterns. Average daily traffic on this portion of the road totals more than 28,000 vehicles.
“This is an important milestone that brings us one step closer to beginning another significant project for the capital region,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “We’re progressing to a major project beginning late next year to rebuild Interstate 83 between just south of the Union Deposit Road interchange and Interstate 81, and widen the highway to three lanes in each direction.”
This new bridge is part of an overall construction contract that got underway last year to replace three bridges that cross over I-83 in Lower Paxton Township – Elmerton Avenue, Route 22 (Jonestown Road) and Union Deposit Road. The Elmerton Avenue bridge was rebuilt last year. Construction work to rebuild the Union Deposit Road bridge at I-83 Exit 48 began last year and is wrapping up. Work on the Route 22 bridge at the I-83 Exit 50 interchange began last year and continues in stages until late next year.
All three new bridges will provide greater lateral under clearance to provide the width necessary to widen I-83 to six lanes. The I-83 widening project, estimated to cost $133 million, is currently scheduled to start in late 2018 and finish in 2021.
PennDOT has contracted with New Enterprise Stone & Lime Company, Inc. of New Enterprise, Pennsylvania, to conduct the three bridge replacements at a cost of $34,199,999. The overall project with the three bridges is scheduled to wrap up in February 2019.