Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announces federal funding at a press conference with (from left) Mayor Wanda Williams, Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Drew Simpson, regional manager of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, and PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll.
A major project to replace Harrisburg’s I-83 South Bridge just got a significant funding boost—to the tune of $500 million.
At a press conference on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that federal infrastructure funds will help support the $1 billion bridge project.
“There was a clear need for bridge repairs to overcome the decades of underinvestment from Washington, and nowhere is that need greater than the I-83 South Bridge right here in Harrisburg,” Buttigieg said.
The full project includes work on the east and west shores of the Susquehanna, including widening the highway and reconstructing interchanges and bridges along the route.
According to PennDOT, the 64-year-old South Bridge, between Harrisburg and Lemoyne, is aging and no longer meets current design standards. Over 125,000 cars drive over the bridge every day, officials shared.
PennDOT originally proposed tolling the bridge to support the costly construction, but that plan died following widespread local criticism and a lawsuit filed by several western PA towns opposing the state’s bridge-tolling plan. At Wednesday’s press event, Gov. Josh Shapiro confirmed that there is, in fact, still no plan to toll the bridge.
The bridge replacement is slated to begin in 2026 and take two to three years, said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. Traffic flow will be maintained during construction, as the new bridge will be built next to the old bridge, before it is torn down, Carroll said.
The funding is part of $5 billion in Large Bridge Project awards through the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) competitive Bridge Investment Program, which will benefit 13 bridges in 16 states.
“This really is an example of how things should work as local, state federal, county, everybody works in unison to deliver something important that no one party could do alone,” Buttigieg said.
According to Shapiro, this is the largest federal grant for a single transportation project that Pennsylvania has ever received.
In October 2023, PennDOT announced that work would begin on the first of two contracts comprising the east shore section of the I-83 project. In June, PennDOT closed the 29th Street bridge, spanning the highway, from July 8 through Nov. 12, 2025, as work is done to replace it. That project will include widening and reconstructing portions of the highway, bridges and interchanges.
The second east shore contract is expected to be under construction from 2025 to 2028 and includes work along additional portions of the highway.
The I-83 construction is also expected to impact a large homeless encampment near the PennDOT building. It is still unknown when that encampment will need to be vacated, Carroll said. However, Carroll said that PennDOT is working with city and county officials, as well as service providers, to form a plan for how to move and assist the occupants.
For more information about the I-83 Capital Beltway Project, visit PennDOT’s website.
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