I-81 Improvement Strategy – A Playbook to Set Priorities

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Stay Informed

From the Maryland border through Lebanon County, and the 100 miles in-between, the I-81 Improvement Strategy sets a vision for improvements to bring positive change for everyone who travels on I-81.

As we work toward completing the strategy later this year, please take a few minutes and review our progress:

Twelve Focus Areas for improvements have been identified. Each have consistent needs that could be addressed by improvement projects or initiatives.
Four Focus Areas emerged as top priorities based on safety, mobility, access, and infrastructure condition needs.
Stakeholders and travelers with an interest from across the corridor have shared their feedback and consistently rank safety and congestion as top priorities.

Top Ranked Focus Areas

The I-81 Improvement Strategy will serve as a playbook for setting priorities and funding future projects as resources become available through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

Phase 2, Concept Development, is currently in progress and includes a more detailed evaluation of the top ranked Focus Areas to define candidate projects. This phase also includes the identification of corridor-wide improvement projects to address incident management strategies and traffic operations. Please select each Focus Area below to learn more and to share your feedback.

Greater Harrisburg Area

Rural Dauphin / Lebanon

Greater Carlisle Area

Greater Chambersburg Area

Milestone Schedule | Phase 2 is Underway

Project Overview Video

Corridor Facts

CONDITION

First Section Opened to Traffic
1961

LENGTH

Miles
100

CONGESTION

Highest Daily Traffic
Up to 104,000

TRUCK TRAFFIC

Average Daily
36%

BRIDGES

Total
177

ACCESS

Points
36

MUNICIPALITIES

In the Corridor
121

POPULATION

People
820,000

Lead Agency

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission

Primary Partners

Harrisburg Area Transit Study (HATS) MPO

Franklin County MPO

Lebanon County (LEBCO) MPO

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

"We're working hard on this effort to really focus on implementation. Once we reach some sort of consensus on the project needs, we want to tie them as quickly as we can to the implementation funding necessary to put the improvements into place."

Steve Deck, Executive Director
Tri-County Regional Planning Commission

“One of the big issues in Lebanon County is helping to improve existing access to serve future economic development in this region."

Jon Fitzkee, Assistant Director
Lebanon County Planning Department

“The potential for economic development and job growth along Interstate 81 is further enhanced by two major railroads and interchanges along the corridor."

Steve Thomas, Executive Director
Franklin County Planning Department

“Improvements to this heavily traveled interstate require communication and coordination with multiple stakeholders, time, and financial investments. This strategy will explore near and long-term projects to improve safety, alleviate congestion and address the condition of the roadway."

Michelle Tarquino, Executive Assistant
PA Department of Transportation – Multimodal Deputate

A Playbook to Set Priorities