HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Wednesday, PennDOT hosted its I-83 South Bridge Project's environmental assessment public hearing in Swatara Township, Dauphin County as it awaits the assessment's approval from the federal government.
"This is a very important vital step in moving this project forward, it’s important to the people in this community," said David Thompson, the community relations coordinator for PennDOT's District 8.
The environmental assessment prepared by PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration reviews the bridge project’s impact on the surrounding natural environment and communities. Approval is needed by the federal government for the project to proceed.
"The ultimate goal is to receive approval from the federal government that the project we have is not significantly impacting the public enough that we have to actually stop the project and that we can actually move forward with it," said Thompson.
At Wednesday's hearing, community members were given the opportunity to testify on the assessment in addition to learning more about the bridge improvements the project will bring.
The proposed project would address the bridge's aging structure, increasing traffic volumes and design improvements.
"These are things I need to know so that I can anticipate what changes I have to make so that I can keep my business going and have the least impact to customers," said Philip Dobson, a Harrisburg business owner.
Some organizations also voiced their concerns. Bicycle South Central Pa., a non-profit advocating for bicycle-friendly communities, testified at the hearing voicing their hope of the addition of bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks to the project.
"We’ve been interacting with PennDOT for several years about this project and this is really the final step," said Jim Buckheit, an advocate with Bicycle South Central Pa. "We hope that we have one more opportunity to convince them to make the change and add the bike pathway on the side of the bridge."
PennDOT says all comments from the hearing will be taken into consideration while they await approval of their environmental assessment. They will be accepting public comment through November 16. They ultimately hope with the completion of these final steps construction can begin in the near future.
"We really need to replace this bridge with a new modern facility that’ll help traffic flow more freely through the I-83 corridor and make it safer for the public," said Thompson.
PennDOT expects a ruling on their environmental assessment this winter which would be followed by design finalization and the start of construction by 2026.