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I-83/PA 581 INTERCHANGE BOTTLENECK SAFETY PROJECT

LEMOYNE, PA

PennDOT engaged McCormick Taylor to provide preliminary engineering, environmental studies, final design services, and construction consultation to address a major traffic bottleneck at the existing I-83/PA 581 Interchange that experienced chronic congestion and safety concerns.

CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN, PLANNING & COMMUNICATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL , ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY, INFRASTRUCTURE, GOVERNMENT

THE CHALLENGE

In 2003, PennDOT included the I-83/PA 581 Interchange in their I-83 Master Plan. However, funding restrictions prevented the Department from initiating the $190 million full-systems interchange as featured in the Master Plan. PennDOT thus engaged with McCormick Taylor to deliver an alternative solution that could be designed and constructed using available transportation funds.

 

The existing interchange, known locally as the York Split, included multiple local access ramps within a very short distance. These ramps created multiple conflict points with heavy volume weaving conditions, as well as difficult merge and diverge maneuvers. To address these safety issues, ramp movements were eliminated, combined, or relocated.

06 photo 6 the extended lanes of northbound i 83
york split 1

HOW WE HELPED

McCormick Taylor provided preliminary engineering, environmental studies, final design services, and construction consultation for the I-83/PA 581 Interchange Bottleneck Safety Project. Our team was responsible for designing interchange improvements whose main component was to maintain two continuous lanes of traffic on I-83 northbound through the interchange.

RESULTS

The I-83/PA 581 Interchange Bottleneck Safety Project greatly improves traffic flow and safety concerns throughout the interchange area. The improvements addressed a major traffic bottleneck in the Harrisburg area that made the northbound commute on I-83 one of the most congested traffic corridors in the region.

 

Additional improvements included:

  • Construction of new and reconfigured interchange ramps
  • Incorporation of a new collector-distributor system at the interchange to reduce weaving conflicts
  • Bituminous overlays on SR 581, SR 2028, and SR 2035
  • Completion of a complex traffic control plan to maintain traffic during construction
  • Extension of auxiliary lane across the South Bridge by conversion of the existing shoulder area
  • Preparation of design-build plans and specifications for the superstructure replacement of SR 581 over 10th Street using accelerated bridge construction methods
york split 3