LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — PennDOT District 8, which covers South Central Pennsylvania, marked the end of the 2022 construction season with a recap of completed and upcoming projects.
District 8 had 122 active projects in 2022, 54 of which were finished. The work included replacing or repairing 26 bridges and paving 153 miles of highway.
Some of the projects were paid with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which was signed into law in November 2021. The law will bring in $4 billion to Pennsylvania over five years, including $600 million in 2022.
Officials said the funds were distributed to a variety of projects, allowing them to be completed on time. Current steel and cement fabrication shortages could have otherwise caused project delays.
“The infrastructure bill helped cover some of the extra costs we’re seeing here for supply-side issues and inflation, but also allows us to get those things fully funded and allows us to plan and move some of those projects that are out a few years, to advance those projects,” said Chris Kufro, executive of District 8.
Just like traffic, PennDOT’s work never stops. At the same press conference, officials highlighted the beginning of another project at the Centerville Road Interchange in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. After the work is complete, the often-congested bridge over Route 30 will have five lanes, a turning lane and pedestrian sidewalks.
Drivers should expect delays on Route 30 when the highway switches to one-lane traffic in both directions from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Sunday, Nov. 20.
The project is estimated to take two to two and a half years to complete.
Officials hope the burst of projects helps improve Pennsylvania’s overall quality of road and bridge infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the state a D+ on both metrics in its 2018 Infrastructure Report Card. ASCE’s next quadrennial report card for Pennsylvania will be released Tuesday morning.