Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is hosting an on-demand virtual public meeting for the I-83 South Bridge Project now through March 29, 2021. The meeting will be accessible online at all hours of the day at www.penndot.gov/i83SouthBridge.

The I-83 John Harris Memorial (South) Bridge is aging and no longer meets current design standards. Due to anticipated increases in traffic volumes, the bridge and its connections on the West Shore need to be upgraded. By investing in improvements today, we can ensure that the I-83 South Bridge can support the future needs of the Harrisburg region.

PennDOT currently faces an $8.1 billion funding gap for maintaining and improving highways and bridges across the state. To address this problem, PennDOT launched the Pathways program, an initiative that aims to identify reliable, future-focused funding solutions for Pennsylvania’s transportation system.

To support PennDOT Pathways, we are conducting a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study to identify and evaluate near- and long-term funding solutions. One of the early findings is that bridge tolling of major bridges in need of replacement or rehabilitation could be a viable near-term solution. To advance this funding alternative, PennDOT has the Major Bridge P3 Initiative. South Bridge has been identified as a candidate for bridge tolling through this initiative.

A bridge toll is a fee that drivers pay when passing a specific location, often by using a service like E-ZPass. Funds received from this project’s bridge toll would go toward the construction, maintenance and operations of the I-83 South Bridge Project, freeing up funds to be used for other bridge and roadway needs in the region.

PennDOT encourages everyone to review the materials presented in the virtual meeting and to provide comments, which will be accepted throughout the duration of the meeting. Online comments can be submitted directly from the meeting website or via other comment submission methods, including:

• Email: i83SouthBridge@pa.gov • Hotline: (717) 743-1005 • Mail: I-83 South Bridge Project, Attn: Derek Mitch, 2140 Herr Street, Harrisburg, PA 17103 The public can also attend our telephone town hall event. Call in on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. to learn more about the South Bridge Project and discuss questions with the project team. Participants can pre-register at www.penndot.gov/i83SouthBridge to receive a phone call to join at the start of the meeting, or can dial in directly to the meeting at (855)-756-7520; Entry Code Ext: 71648#.

If you would like to request translation services for the I-83 South Bridge Project, please reach out via the project email or hotline number.

Si usted desea solicitar servicios de traducción para el Proyecto Puente I-83 Sur, por favor contacte al correo electrónico del proyecto i83SouthBridge@pa.gov o llame a la línea directa del proyecto (717) 743-1005.

For more information about the I-83 South Bridge Project, you can visit www.penndot.gov/i83SouthBridge.