Route 28 northbound is now open to two lanes at the Highland Park Bridge.
The newly constructed lane was scheduled to open at 5 p.m., but cameras show that both lanes have opened early.
PennDOT said this new lane will help with congestion and the existing bottleneck.
“It is very exciting to reach this milestone of Route 28 having two lanes of unrestricted free flow traffic after generations of transportation professionals have worked collectively on this effort for decades,” said District Executive Jason Zang, P.E. “We thank the men and women who worked day and night, in adverse weather conditions, next to speeding traffic to deliver this final major improvement on Route 28.”
Crews continue to work on Route 28 southbound, including line painting, sawing and sealing operations and installing a guide rail.
The new southbound lane is expected to open to traffic next week if weather permits.
PennDOT says to allow extra time and use caution when driving through the work zone.
From 2009 to 2014, five major road projects -- totaling more than $100 million in part -- addressed the traffic bottlenecks at the 31st and 40th Street bridges, according to PennDOT.
These projects, which allowed for free flow of traffic leaving the city, pushed the bottleneck to the Highland Park Bridge interchange.
The goal of the $47.31 million project is to help mitigate congestion by having two lanes in each direction on Route 18 at the interchange and to enhance safety with improved acceleration and deceleration lanes at the bridge, PennDOT said.
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