PennDOT has spent five years revising its plan for the Market Street Bridge. The version on the table this fall carries an estimated construction cost of $149 million and an anticipated start in 2027. The project page lists a proposed construction end of 2034. For anyone who drives, walks or bikes between downtown Harrisburg, City Island and Lemoyne, the four-lane headline matters less than one sentence buried in PennDOT's traffic plan: "Two-way traffic will be maintained from one shore to City Island during construction and one-way traffic will be maintained from shore to shore."
Read the phases closely and the plan is organized around the island. Getting to FNB Field or the island parking lots stays possible from both directions through almost the whole job. Crossing the whole river is the trip that gets cut in half, and for years the other half runs over the Harvey Taylor Bridge.
The plan is still being finalized
PennDOT held an open house at city hall on August 17, 2026, and took public comments from August 7 through September 7. As of the page's August 2026 update, the project is in final design. Everything below is the proposed plan, and some details could still move.
The project has moved before. TheBurg reported that the plan "has gone through many iterations since it was first announced in 2021." At the 2025 open house, PennDOT proposed cutting one lane from each side to slow traffic. Harrisburg Senators president Kevin Kulp worried that would make it harder for fans to reach games on the island. PennDOT has since gone back to four lanes, and project manager Pharon Bertsch said the city pushed for that change.
"We made the decision that we were going to stay with the four lanes as it exists currently. Part of the issue too is if there was ever maintenance that needs done to the Harvey Taylor structure, we would have the four lanes available for Market Street that could be used as an alternate route." Pharon Bertsch, PennDOT project manager, to TheBurg
So the two bridges are designed as backups for each other. During construction, that means Harvey Taylor takes on the role Bertsch described for Market Street.
Why a second bridge gets built first
The most unusual part of the project was added in 2022. PennDOT will build a separate utility bridge on the downstream side of the existing structure. Gas, sewer, electric and telecom lines that now hang under both sidewalks will move onto it, and the same bridge will carry people on foot and on bikes. PennDOT spokesman Dave Thompson told PennLive that moving the utilities this way cuts the overall project to six years instead of ten.
Building that bridge comes first. PennLive reported this initial phase is expected to take two years without long-term lane closures on Market Street. If construction starts in 2027 as anticipated, the lane shifts most drivers will notice would begin around 2029. TheBurg described the schedule as two years for the utility bridge followed by four years of rehab. That doesn't line up exactly with the 2027–2034 window on PennDOT's page, so treat any finish date as provisional.
How each phase changes the trip
Once the utility bridge is done, the main structure gets rebuilt one side at a time. Here's the proposed sequence from PennDOT's project page and open-house display boards:
| Phase | Work area | Drivers | Walkers and cyclists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A and 1B | Utility bridge, utility relocation | All lanes open, with short-term closures for work on City Island and utility reconnections | Upstream sidewalk on Market Street; Walnut Street Bridge as an alternate between Harrisburg and City Island |
| 2A, 2B, 2C | Downstream side of both spans | One westbound lane from Harrisburg to Lemoyne; eastbound traffic reaches City Island from Lemoyne, then detours via Harvey Taylor | Upstream sidewalk; Walnut Street Bridge as an alternate |
| 3A, 3B, 3C | Upstream side of both spans | One eastbound lane from Lemoyne to Harrisburg; westbound traffic reaches City Island from Harrisburg, then detours via Harvey Taylor | Utility bridge opens |
| 4A | Full-depth paving, westbound lanes | One eastbound lane; westbound detours via Harvey Taylor | Island reachable from the west shore |
| 4B | Full-depth paving, eastbound lanes | One westbound lane; eastbound detours via Harvey Taylor | Island reachable from the east shore |
In Phases 2 and 3, PennDOT says island access from each shore will be maintained. The final paving stages are the exception. In Phase 4A the island can be reached from the west shore, and in Phase 4B from the east shore. For someone in Midtown or downtown heading to a Senators game, 4A is the stretch when the direct Market Street route to the island is not on the list.
Boaters keep a route too. Contractors will build half-width causeways in each channel, so half of both the eastern and western channels stays open throughout.
Where the sidewalk plan doesn't add up yet
People on foot and on bikes will see the biggest permanent change. When the project is finished, both bridges keep four 10-foot lanes. The upstream sidewalks get wider, with shoulders added. The downstream sidewalk on both bridges will be eliminated. The utility bridge takes over the downstream role as a separate 14-foot bike and pedestrian crossing. Bertsch said its stained concrete will match the colors of the historic arch bridge so it "doesn't stand out against the backdrop."
The utility bridge gets built first, but it won't carry foot traffic right away. PennDOT's FAQ says its bike and pedestrian path opens in Phase 3 because during Phase 2, construction cranes would be reaching over it.
PennDOT's own documents disagree about what happens next. The project page says bike and pedestrian access across the river will be provided throughout construction and that "the existing upstream sidewalk will remain open to provide passage as it does today." The Phase 3 display board says the Market Street Bridge is "CLOSED to pedestrians and bicyclists" and tells them to use the utility bridge only. Either way, a path across the river stays open. What's unsettled is which deck it's on during the years the upstream side is being rebuilt.
Regular riders who came to the August open house mostly approved. Marilyn Chastek, a Cumberland County cyclist, said "it'll take some getting used to, but overall, it's going to be safe for people who walk and bike." Daniel Thomas, a Midtown resident who bikes to work over the bridge, said he was "excited to see bike and pedestrian infrastructure."
The Walnut Street Bridge's role on the boards
In Phases 1 and 2, PennDOT's display boards list the Walnut Street Bridge as an alternate route from Harrisburg to City Island. That route ends at the island. The 1996 ice flood tore three spans off the west side of Walnut, and the island-to-West Shore link was never replaced. ABC27 reported in January 2026 that PennDOT estimates a rebuild at $23 million and ranks other bridges higher. The Historic Harrisburg Association backs the push to bring the western spans back.
The Market Street project touches Walnut more directly than the boards show. In 2025, Thompson told PennLive that PennDOT has "not had discussions to decommission or close the Walnut Street bridge." The one related conversation he described was with Capital Region Water, about whether to move its water line from Walnut onto the new utility bridge. He said that would be cheaper now than as a stand-alone job decades from now "should the Walnut Street bridge continue to deteriorate." According to the Historic Harrisburg Association, the 2,801-foot span draws more than a million visitors, tourists and residents a year.
Game days and island parking
Construction needs space on City Island. PennDOT says contractors will use portions of the island parking lots to stage equipment and reach the river causeways. In 2025, city officials told PennLive that hundreds of spaces could become unusable, possibly calling for a shuttle from other lots. The Senators asked PennDOT to estimate how long it would take to clear the island after a game. To keep postgame traffic moving, PennDOT was considering a flagger at the single exit ramp from the parking areas and longer green lights at the signals on either shore.
PennDOT's current answer is to resurface parts of the lots in a more efficient stall layout. It says the new layout will increase the total number of spaces on the island both during and after construction. It also says bus stops and parking lots on City Island will stay open in every phase. Kulp told TheBurg he was happy with where things landed after many conversations with PennDOT and the city.
"People are going to be able to access the island from both directions and we are going to do everything we can to minimize the effects so that it doesn't impact their experience." Kevin Kulp, Harrisburg Senators
Market Street isn't the only crossing in design right now. The Lemoyne Bottleneck project, which focuses on bike and pedestrian safety on Market Street on the West Shore, and the I-83 South Bridge replacement are both in design too. PennDOT says the teams will coordinate to set the overall construction schedule. Those schedules will decide what the Harvey Taylor detour feels like in practice, and PennDOT District 8's project pages are where they'll be posted.
If a 2027 start is part of your timing for a sale or a move on either side of the river, the Michael Orta Team can talk through how the bridge phases fit your plans. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll take it from there.
