HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced this week it is inviting public comments on its plans to rehabilitate the Market Street Bridge, which connects Harrisburg, City Island, and the West Shore communities of Wormleysburg and Lemoyne across the Susquehanna River.
"As one of the four main river crossings in the Harrisburg area, Market Street provides a key connection that must be maintained," PennDOT said on the webpage outlining the project. "To maintain the crossing for years to come, work must be completed to both the western and eastern bridges."
PennDOT is inviting the public to view its online plan display and and to attend an upcoming open house for the project, which includes work on the 16-span western bridge and the 16-span eastern bridge that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The project includes historic arch rehabilitation and replacement of the deck and sidewalks on the eastern bridge and construction of a new superstructure (deck and beams) on the western bridge, PennDOT said.
Improvements to the sidewalks on both bridges will enhance access for both bicycle and pedestrian use.
"The purpose of the project is to maintain safe and efficient multimodal connectivity across the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and the West Shore communities, as well as access to City Island and its amenities," PennDOT said in its press release.
Information, including a project overview, project displays, and methods to provide comment, will be available to be viewed beginning today on the project website at Market Street Bridge.
An in-person open house plan display will be held on Dec. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kinsley Hall, 20 Market Street, Wormleysburg, PennDOT said.
“The Market Street Bridge connects our east shore and west shore communities and is the main access point to City Island,” PennDOT Acting District Executive Chris Drda said. “It is an important project for commuters and pedestrians, and we strongly encourage everyone to visit the project website or join us for the open house to learn about the preliminary plans to rehabilitate the bridge and maintain safety and multimodal access over the Susquehanna.”
During construction, PennDOT said traffic could be maintained by several different options that include:
- Full detour of vehicular traffic on the western bridge which may allow shorter construction durations
- Detouring westbound traffic while maintaining one lane eastbound between the west and east shores
- Maintaining one lane in both the eastbound and westbound directions during construction which could complicate the construction and lengthen construction durations.
Vehicular access to City Island will be maintained for the duration of construction, as well as access for bicycles and pedestrians across both the western and eastern bridges, PennDOT said.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2024. The 10-year project's estimated cost is $63 million, according to PennDOT.
