Daily News Briefs, October 18, 2023

PennDOT Schedules Hearings On Bridge Project Excluded From P3 Consideration

PennDOT announced the scheduling of two in-person public hearings on the Environmental Assessment prepared for the estimated $1.1 to $1.3 billion I-83 South (John Harris Memorial) Bridge Project. The bridge, which spans the Susquehanna River between Lemoyne and Harrisburg, doesn’t meet contemporary design standards and is reaching the end of its serviceable lifespan. “Due to bridge conditions and anticipated increases in traffic volumes,” PennDOT stated, “the bridge and its connections on [both sides of the river] need to be upgraded.” The information-sharing and input-gathering events will take place on the evenings of November 1 in Harrisburg and November 2 in Camp Hill. All materials presented during the hearings will be available for review online at www.penndot.pa.gov/i83SouthBridge from October 17 to November 16.

PennDOT notes that the I-83 bridge project is no longer part of the Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (MBP3) Program; it will be “moving forward with non-tolling funding sources and to expedite this critical project, PennDOT continues to seek federal discretionary funding.”

As TRN reported in July, PennDOT withdrew the project from the P3 program in reaction to significant public opposition to tolling and local government concerns about the possibility of traffic diversion.

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Houston Chamber Spotlights Transportation Infrastructure's Role In Economic Development

.Greater Houston Partnership, metro Houston’s preeminent chamber and economic development organization, is touting transportation infrastructure’s contribution to economic growth in the 12-county region. “Fort Bend County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, has become a hotspot for people to live, work and build their businesses, thanks in part to rising new developments and transportation projects,” the organization states in a recent blog post that spotlights several current and proposed projects, including a Westpark Tollway extension, Grand Parkway (SH-99) improvements and a major Highway 36A extension.

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An Overview Of CTRMA’s 183 North Mobility Project

Axios Austin, as part of an occasional series on road construction in the capital region, provides an overview of the 183 North Mobility Project. On a nine-mile segment between SR 45 and MoPac, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is building up to six new lanes — including four tolled lanes — in northwest Austin. The article provides a map of the project, and an infographic illustrating the difference between the current and future roadway structures. Without the project, CTRMA says, rush-hour traffic would slow to an average of 10 miles per hour by 2035. The $612 million project is slated for completion in 2026. But one local business owner predicts that even this expanded roadway will be congested again within a decade.

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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