Kathy Liebler                         Director of Public Information

    C   O   M   M   I   S   S   I   O   N                N   E   W   S             R   E   L   E   A   S   E

    Contact: Lowman S. Henry    (717) 939-9551 Ext. # 2934                      November 25, 1997 

IMPROVEMENTS SLATED FOR CARLISLE INTERCHANGE        

Harrisburg (PA) -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has awarded a $1.8 million contract to Pavex, Inc. of Camp Hill to expand and upgrade the Carlisle Interchange (Exit # 16). Work on the project is scheduled to begin soon after Thanksgiving and will be completed in late August.

Most of the new construction will take place on the Northwest side of the interchange where two new entry lanes will be constructed along with two new toll booths. An existing emergency lane will be converted into an exit lane and a temporary toll booth on that lane will be replaced with a permanent booth. When completed the Carlisle Interchange will have a total of four entry and five exit lanes.

"Traffic flows have been increasing through the Carlisle Interchange and this will give us the ability to move vehicles through the interchange faster," said Harold Harman, a construction engineering manager for the Turnpike. "This project will complement work the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is completing on Route 11. Together, these improvements will greatly enhance the flow of traffic between I-81 and the Turnpike."

The Carlisle Interchange is one of the oldest on the Turnpike, having served as the eastern terminus of the Turnpike when it first opened for business in 1940. At that time, the Turnpike was the nation's only superhighway and offered four-lane service from Carlisle to Irwin, PA. The interchange was moved two miles east to its present location when the Carlise to Valley Forge section of the Turnpike opened in 1950.

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         P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649