BREAKING: I-76 to Be Expanded to Eight Lanes

In a surprise press briefing this afternoon, PennDOT announced that the segment of interstate 76 near Philadelphia known as the Schuylkill Expressway will be expanded to four lanes of traffic in each direction, a total of eight lanes.

Completed in 1959, the expressway has always caused traffic problems for the Philadelphia region, said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in an email to Philadelphia Exquirer. “It’s the one issue that all of Pennsylvania can agree on: we must widen this road.” An expansion has been discussed for nearly half a century, but Corbett said that due to new developments in cantilever technology, it can finally be a reality.

Construction will begin next year, and is expected to be complete by spring 2085. The expressway will be closed to all traffic during construction. SEPTA will be running an additional train on the R1 Main Line to account for the additional commuter traffic. The project will cost an estimated $150 billion dollars over the course of five years. To pay for the project, each PA resident, regardless of age, must pay an extra $2000 in cash on his or her taxes for the next 70 years.

Corbett also mentioned that he is working on creating a program that would let residents choose to do full-time, unpaid, manual labor on the construction in order to waive the new tax fee. “It would be grueling, dangerous work, but we’d wave the two grand,” said Corbett.

This is a developing story.