HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that Valley Road in Lower Paxton Township will be closed next weekend, weather permitting, so its contractor can work on the northbound Interstate 83 bridge spanning the road.
Valley Road will be closed to through traffic between Progress Avenue and Colonial Road from 9 PM Friday, January 17, until 6 AM Monday, January 20, as crews demolish the remainder of the northbound I-83 bridge. From the west, Valley Road will be closed at its intersection with Ridgeview Road therefore the Regal Harrisburg Cinema and the Shoppes at Susquehanna will be accessible from Progress Avenue.
An eastbound detour will use Progress Avenue, U.S. 22, and Colonial Road back to Valley Road and a westbound detour will use Colonial Road, Elmerton Avenue, and Progress Avenue back to Valley Road.
This work is part of the $104,747,344 interstate reconstruction contract that was awarded to J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Chester County, and includes widening and rebuilding a 2.77-mile section of I-83 east of the City of Harrisburg from just south of Exit 48 for Union Deposit Road, through Exit 50 for U.S. 22 (Colonial Park/Progress), to Exit 51 for Interstate 81.
Two lanes of traffic in each direction of I-83 will be maintained during daylight hours throughout the project. PennDOT advises motorists that they may encounter single lane restrictions on I-83 in either direction during overnight hours, 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM. This section of I-83 over Valley Road averages more than 84,400 vehicles traveled per day.
Work started during the fall of 2018 to widen the interstate along the outside of the existing alignment for the additional northbound and southbound lanes on I-83, to construct retaining walls, and to begin work to widen the mainline bridge structures. The initial two-thirds of the work is being conducted off the present alignment of the interstate with minimal impact to mainline traffic. Reconstruction of the existing lanes in the middle will follow this year. The project is expected to finish in 2021.
The structure work on the project includes the replacement and widening of the existing mainline bridges at Valley Road as well as three other locations, widening the existing culvert at Slotznick Run, and construction of new retaining walls as well as new sound walls in the residential areas.
Source: PennDOT
