It's open! New East Market Street bridge reopens after replacement

A section of East Market Street near Interstate 83 that has been closed for five weeks for a bridge replacement reopened to traffic Tuesday afternoon.

It will provide relief to drivers who have been caught in traffic backups and residents whose neighborhoods have become unofficial detours.

"I'm excited," nearby resident Helenita Ziegler said.

She visited the site every couple of days and took cookies to the Clearwater Construction, Inc. workers. It took five weeks, and "you can live with it."

Belmont Bean Co., a nearby coffee shop that has been impacted by the construction, posted on Facebook that it is hosting a bridge reopening party. It is set for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday. All drinks will be $2, and a free piece of cake will be offered while supplies last.

PennDOT said in mid-October that the $6.4 million project remained on schedule, even with the inclement weather from Hurricane Ian.

The project involves replacing the bridge, signal upgrades, guide rail work and other construction. While the bridge has reopened, all of the work will not be completed until the spring.

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I-83 South on-ramp toward Baltimore reopens

During construction, East Market Street, also known as Route 462, had been closed between Belmont Street and North Hills Road. It partially impacted the I-83 interchange at Market Street, Exit 19.

With the reopening of the bridge, traffic now will be able to use the on-ramp to I-83 at Market Street, Exit 19. Many drivers who travel Route 30 use North Hills Road as a shortcut to get onto the highway to head south toward Baltimore.

While the I-83 South off-ramp to Route 462 East (Exit 19A) near the Elmwood Mansion remained open during construction, drivers could not head east on East Market Street into the residential and shopping areas in Springettsbury Township. Now, they can.

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Why Route 462 was closed for the bridge work

The new bridge replaces one that was built in 1959.

It is one of the projects being done in advance of the I-83 widening from four to six lanes between the Market Street and George Street interchanges.

PennDOT decided to replace the bridge on an accelerated schedule to reduce the impact to traffic and to lessen the time that power lines in the work zone would have to be de-energized, spokesman Dave Thompson has said.

Without a full closure, the work would have taken about a year and a half to complete by doing it in stages, a PennDOT project manager said previously.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: East Market Street bridge near I-83 reopens to traffic after replacement