High-traffic bridge has fallen into poor condition; steel beams are cracked and deteriorating
Proposed weight restrictions on South Bridge would greatly harm local trucking industry and commerce
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) led a group of 18 members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) calling on the agency to provide critical funding to replace the Interstate 83 John Harris Memorial Bridge, also known as the I-83 South Bridge, which connects Dauphin and Cumberland counties across the Susquehanna River. The bridge is currently rated in “poor condition” by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and has developed cracks in its steel beams that are expected to deteriorate further. A full replacement is necessary to keep traffic flowing on I-83 in South Central Pennsylvania.
The members wrote, “Replacing this bridge is critical to ensuring safe, efficient transit not just in South Central Pennsylvania but throughout the entire Commonwealth. We urge your department to recognize both the merit and severity of this need by providing significant discretionary funding for the project.”
In addition to Senator Casey, the letter was signed by U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), Dwight Evans (D-PA-3), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6), Susan Wild (D-PA-7), Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8), Dan Meuser (R-PA-9), Scott Perry (R-PA-10), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), John Joyce (R-PA-13), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14), Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), and Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17). This effort comes after the Members of Congress initially pushed DOT to fund the I-83 project last year.
According to PennDOT, worsening cracks in the steel beams of the bridge mean the bridge must be completely replaced and cannot be rehabilitated. Without a replacement, PennDOT may have to impose weight limits on the bridge, limiting its use for the movement of freight and creating significant congestion along other routes. The project’s expected cost of between $1.1 and $1.3 billion mean that significant additional federal funding will be required to replace the bridge. Additionally, without federal funding, PennDOT may have to divert funding away from dozens of other projects across the Commonwealth, weakening the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in Pennsylvania.
Read the full text of the letter HERE or below:
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
We write today to reiterate our strong collective support for federal discretionary funding for the Interstate 83 John Harris Memorial Bridge (“I-83 South Bridge”) replacement project. This project remains the largest, unfunded transportation priority in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with a price tag of over one billion dollars. Replacing this bridge is critical to ensuring safe, efficient transit not just in South Central Pennsylvania but throughout the entire Commonwealth. We urge your department to recognize both the merit and severity of this need by providing significant discretionary funding for the project.
The I-83 South Bridge connects Dauphin County, home to Pennsylvania’s capital Harrisburg, to neighboring Cumberland County over the Susquehanna River. In addition to being one of the fastest growing regions in the Commonwealth, this region is also a significant nexus for interstate freight traffic, with several intermodal freight terminals and major warehousing hubs located nearby. As a result, the I-83 South Bridge carries over 125,000 vehicles every day.
Unfortunately, the I-83 South Bridge has fallen into “poor” condition, with cracks in the steel beams of the bridge that will worsen each day as traffic continues. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) officials have informed us that due to the nature of the cracks, the bridge must be completely replaced and cannot be rehabilitated. Additionally, we are told that the severity of the bridge’s condition means that PennDOT may have to impose weight limits on the bridge, limiting its use for the movement of freight and creating significant congestion along other routes.
PennDOT had intended to fund the replacement of the I-83 South Bridge with revenue from a tolling plan that has since been struck down by Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court. While PennDOT was able to enter a public-private partnership to address some of the other bridges that it had intended to fix with tolling funds, the I-83 South Bridge remains an outstanding need.
Due to the project’s expected cost of between $1.1 and $1.3 billion, PennDOT would be unable to fund the project through formula funding it has received from both the state and federal governments without reallocating hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects. This process would be devastating for all regions of the Commonwealth and would severely undercut infrastructure investment in Pennsylvania.
To that end, we are writing as representatives from all areas of Pennsylvania—including districts located hundreds of miles away from the I-83 South Bridge—to highlight our strong collective desire to see this project receive significant federal discretionary funding. The U.S. Department of Transportation has already use funding from major grant programs under IIJA to support other high-priority bridge projects and we believe that the I-83 South Bridge in Pennsylvania can and should be a worthy addition to that cohort.
Thank you for your consideration of our request. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to Senator Casey’s staff at (202) 224-6324.
###
