The $12.6 million project will continue into fall 2018.
Commuters crossing the Delaware River on Interstate 78 may encounter construction traffic starting next week and continuing periodically through fall 2018.
A $12.6 million project addressing the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission's 6.5-mile stretch of I-78 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will begin with milling and paving the shoulders of the eastbound lanes, the commission announced Thursday.
That means I-78's three lanes will be reduced to two between 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, and down to a single lane outside of those hours. Westbound closures will follow in the coming weeks.
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Overall, the project will include improvements at over- and underpasses approaching the Delaware River span and painting new stripes on the entire stretch, the commission said in a news release last spring. Construction activity will take a hiatus over the winter, pick back up in spring and conclude next fall.
This is separate from a yearlong I-78 overhaul that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is overseeing and which began this week.
Additional lane closures and traffic shifts will be announced at each stage of the toll bridge commission, and officials set up a website with more information on the project.
The I-78 Delaware River bridge is the most-used of the commission's bridges, carrying 24.9 million vehicles in 2016.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.