Orange Improvement Zone

Wider, smoother, safer. That’s the mantra at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. We’re hard at work to make sure your Turnpike travels can be all three of those qualities at once. It’s a short-term inconvenience for a long-term benefit, so rest assured when you see orange on the road that safe driving is right around the corner.

This summer and fall in the Harrisburg area you will see our Orange Improvement Zone where we’re rebuilding the roadway from the ground up, widening the roadway from four lanes to six lanes and constructing a wider, 26-foot median between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

With 25,000 vehicles traveling the Turnpike every day in the Greater Harrisburg region, enhancing driver safety is imperative. A wider highway with reduced slopes and curves will ease congestion and lessen the potential for accidents as well as your travel time.

Having smoother roadways also helps to keep your vehicle in one piece -- and fewer bumps and rattles mean a safer ride and fatter wallet for you.

This $94 million central Pennsylvania improvement project is only one of many construction projects across the 550-mile Turnpike. In fact, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has rebuilt 114 miles of the roadway so far, with 22 miles currently under construction.  The commission is rebuilding aging bridges, repairing surfaces and adding capacity system-wide --all to make your travels safer.

Progress can be messy. That’s almost a guarantee with road construction projects. As the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission undertakes long-needed upgrades in the greater Harrisburg area, our work crews always consider the interests of the homes and businesses that abut the 550-mile-long highway. Just like a home improvement project, however, road construction can temporarily disrupt any smooth-running household.

Keeping in mind that today’s turnpike projects are temporary interruptions built to last with the long-term benefits of a safe, smooth and efficient travel experience, we’d like to offer some tips for making living near our construction sites a little more tolerable.

Clear the air: Road construction can be dusty. Minimize what enters your house by keeping the windows shut during active work hours and by changing your heating/cooling system’s air filter regularly.

Tuck and roll: You know the back routes better than anyone. Plan to use them during peak construction times and save yourself the wait in construction traffic.

Make some noise: Despite our efforts to be a good neighbor, even good neighbors can make mistakes. We can’t address what we don’t know; help us help you and give us a call, 717-766-1741 ext. 5009.

Get the 411: Keep up with our construction schedule on the PA Turnpike’s website. That will help you plan your events and travels around the busiest and noisiest times.

While the public is only seeing the orange barrels now, the PA Turnpike Commission has spent years preparing for its just-launched rebuilding and widening project between the Harrisburg East and West Interchanges.

The $94 million project in Fairview Township, York County -- our Orange Improvement Zone --  required three separate projects to be completed first, so that once the expansion from three lanes to six is complete from mileposts 242-245, drivers aren’t bottlenecked elsewhere on the highway.

Those major projects were:

Old York Road Bridge – Originally a single span steel girder bridge, the Old York Road Bridge over the PA Turnpike was replaced with a two-span concrete “box-beam” bridge in October 2013. This project also included widening the Turnpike, and the bridge itself was reconstructed to accommodate three lanes in each direction from our Orange Improvement Zone.

Marsh Run Road Bridge - This bridge over the PA Turnpike also was a single span steel girder bridge, and in October 2013 was replaced with a two-span concrete “box-beam” bridge. This bridge also was reconstructed to accommodate three lanes in each direction from our new reconstruction zone.

Stream and Wetland Mitigation – The commission is building wetlands and mitigating a stream adjacent to the Turnpike to lessen the environmental/impervious impacts of the Harrisburg area project. The project also consists of habitat enhancement structures, landscaping items, observation deck and erosion control structures. The wetland portion has begun and the stream sections soon will follow.

The PTC has rebuilt and widened more than 110 miles of its 550-mile system. We know that solid planning leads to success, especially when dealing with complete reconstruction, as we are between the Harrisburg East and West interchanges.

When you see orange on the PA Turnpike, think new jobs.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is replacing and repairing large stretches of the highway and its bridges and adding capacity to improve efficiency and safety for motorists. The icing on the cake: Our projects create jobs and help to attract new businesses. So when you see an orange divider on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, it means more jobs are right around the corner.

For every billion dollars invested, we can create 30,000 jobs.  Thanks to the enactment of historic legislation, Act 89 of 2013, PA is investing an extra $7.4 billion over the next five years to improve its transportation infrastructure. The payback will be modern, efficient roadways vital to attracting economic growth.

We already know that modernizing roads and improving access attracts new companies -- and that means more jobs for Pennsylvanians. When we built an E-ZPass Only interchange linking the Turnpike to State Route 29 in Chester County, a major pharmaceutical company took advantage and expanded its operations. Endo Pharmaceuticals cited the Route 29 Interchange as a motivator for relocating to the Atwater Business Park.

Moody’s estimates every dollar invested on infrastructure generates an increase of $1.44 in the GDP. There are already $1.6 billion in construction projects under way across the 550-mile Turnpike. With the Harrisburg area’s $94 million Orange Improvement Zone project, we’re rebuilding the roadway from the ground up, widening from four lanes to six lanes and constructing  a 26-foot median between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

The economic ripple effect from a project of this size is significant. In fact, the Turnpike completed an economic impact analysis which found that this project alone will create at least 903 jobs directly tied to construction and at least 96 indirect jobs will be created in a wide range of industries, from architectural and engineering services to local restaurants.

It’s happened to all of us. You’re making great time on a trip down the Pennsylvania Turnpike when the orange signs start appearing -- CAUTION: CONSTRUCTION AHEAD. As much as road construction can sometimes be frustrating, an Orange Improvement Zone is actually a sign of a healthy economy, a preventive measure against accidents and, honestly, short-term pain for long-term gain.

In the case of construction projects in the greater Harrisburg area this summer, the work to improve this 65 year-old stretch of Turnpike will result in a wider, safer, and smoother drive. When it’s finished, it’s guaranteed to make the local commute much more enjoyable.

Benefits we’ll see from the turnpike improvements include:

More cars, less time: Turnpike construction projects are adding lanes, and widening shoulders and media to enable the roadway to safely handle a higher volume of traffic, meaning you can spend less time commuting and more time at work and play.

Orange is temporary: Once these repairs and replacements are finished, these roads won’t need major work for another 10 years.

Safer travel: PA Turnpike projects are replacing structurally deficient bridges. With as many as 36,000 vehicles traveling the turnpike every day in Harrisburg, drivers’ safety is imperative.

Work for PA: Pennsylvania Turnpike construction projects will create 50,000 jobs in PA.

Future jobs: PA is investing an extra $7.4 billion over the next five years to improve transportation infrastructure. The payback will be modern, efficient roadways vital to attracting economic growth.

Don’t let orange make you see red. Follow the posted speed limits to keep our workers, yourself and your fellow motorists safe and know that Orange Improvement Zone projects are creating jobs, improving safety and making tomorrow’s commute better than today’s.

Turnpike CEO announces Orange Improvement Zone campaign to inform motorists, public.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) today announced a major improvement project on Interstate 76 between the Susquehanna River Bridge and the Harrisburg West Interchange to completely rebuild and widen the roadway from four lanes to six lanes with a 26-foot center median. The $94 million project will result in a totally new, wider roadway from milepost 242 to milepost 245; roadway construction will get under way after the Memorial Day holiday.

“The Turnpike currently has more than $1.7 billion invested in construction projects under way across the 550-mile system,” said CEO Mark Compton at a media conference today overlooking the project in Fairview Township, York County. “This year, the Pennsylvania Turnpike turns 75 years old, and while we have rebuilt more than 110 miles from the ground up, we need to continue advancing these efforts to ensure our system is ready to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.”

PTC Chief Engineer Brad Heigel said the widening project is expected to be completed by spring 2018; construction and widening activities on the mainline turnpike will be wrapped up by the fall of 2017. To minimize traffic disruptions, two lanes of traffic will be maintained in each direction at most times during construction. The contract for the construction work was awarded to Trumbull Corp., Pittsburgh; Erdman-Anthony Inc., Mechanicsburg, is handling construction-management services.

At the media conference, Compton also announced the Turnpike’s new “Orange Improvement Zone” campaign — a new, innovative approach to better inform motorists, nearby residents and the public about the progress, the necessity and the long-term benefits of construction improvement projects.

“In the past, we would put up a sign saying ‘Your Toll Dollars at Work’ and hope our customers got the message,” Compton said. “Today, we plan to communicate with motorists and the public through a variety of methods, including social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The goal is to offer regular updates on the construction project and to help the public better understand the reason for the construction and the benefits of the improvements.”

In addition to social media channels, the Orange Improvement Zone campaign will feature a variety of outreach efforts, including billboards, mailings, community engagement, press releases and newspaper and radio ads.

Some of the information offered by the Orange Improvement Zone campaign will include:

Updates: Information on the progress in the construction project, any expected delays due to road work or details of the construction phase.

Safety: Information and tips on preventing accidents in work zones.

Benefits: Information on how the construction will improve driving conditions, commute times and safety.

Jobs: Information on the economic impact of the investment in rebuilding the roadways and the effect it will have on businesses that have transportation needs.

Compton said he views the Orange Improvement Zone campaign as another innovative way the PTC is connecting with motorists, neighbors and the public. He said he hopes that future construction projects adopt Orange Improvement Zone outreach efforts. “Importantly, this campaign meets several key objectives of the commission’s strategic plan, including enhanced safety and enhanced communications,” he said.

The PTC recently announced that it has partnered with Waze (http://www.waze.com), real-time, crowdsourced navigation app powered by the world’s largest community of drivers. The PTC is the first toll-highway operator in the United States to join the Connected Citizens Program, which is designed to promote greater efficiency, deeper insights and safer roads.

The PTC presently makes traveler information available through various methods of communication. Travelers can get Turnpike alerts by calling 866-976-TRIP (8747) or visiting the Travel Conditions Map online at www.paturnpike.com/webmap. The Turnpike’s smartphone app, TRIP Talk, streams audio advisories to iPhone and Droid users so they can keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. To download the free app, visitwww.paturnpike.com/triptalk.

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Compton said the Turnpike expects to handle more than 2.2 million vehicles from Friday through Monday. He urged motorists to drive safely, obey speed limits and use their headlights in work zones.

“The safety of our employees, construction workers and motorists is our number one priority at the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Compton said. “More than 30 Turnpike employees over the years have lost their lives while performing their duties. Motorists can prevent these tragedies by slowing down and being alert in work zones.”