Forster Street, between N. 2nd and N. Front streets. Photo courtesy of the City of Harrisburg.
Construction to calm traffic along a major Harrisburg roadway is set to begin next week.
The city will begin its Capitol Gateway construction project along Forster Street on Sept. 5, a Friday press release stated.
Construction is planned for Forster Street intersections at N. Front and N 2nd streets and includes installing traffic calming features and signal updates.
The city shared the proposal for the project in 2020, when city council approved the submission of a grant application for federal transportation funds. The city received the grant later that year, through the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS), officials stating at the time that construction would be completed in 2021.
The total cost of the project is $1.7 million.
According to officials, around the time when the project first came into discussion, the area was the most crash-prone in the city. The project is part of Harrisburg’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate pedestrian fatalities.
Plans for the Capitol Gateway project. Photo provided by the City of Harrisburg.
Traffic calming features will include adding curb bump-outs and enlarging the median to give pedestrians space to stand if they are unable to cross the street in time. There will also be traffic signal updates at Forster and N. 2nd streets.
The right turning, or “slip lane,” from Forster to N. Front Street will be eliminated.
JVI Group, the contractor on the project, will work through the end of October to make sidewalk and curb improvements then break for the winter. They will return in the spring to finish work, including street milling and paving.
“We are excited to finally begin work on the Capitol Gateway project,” said city Engineer Joel Seiders. “Between traffic coming into the city from the West Shore, leaving the city from the Capitol Complex, or using beautiful Riverfront Park, this section of Harrisburg is one of the most heavily traveled every day. Once this project is complete, it will be safer than ever before to walk, bike, and drive in this area.”
Forster Street will remain open to through traffic during construction and will be reduced down a lane in each direction. Pedestrian traffic will be detoured.
For more information, visit Harrisburg’s website.
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