Interstate 283
Highway in Pennsylvania
Interstate 283 (I-283) is an auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System located just east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It travels from the Harrisburg East interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) north to I-83/U.S. Route 322 (US 322, Capital Beltway) at the Eisenhower Interchange. Pennsylvania Route 283 (PA 283, officially designated as SR 300 because of I-283) continues southeast from near the southern terminus of I-283 to Lancaster as a freeway, functioning as an extension of the Interstate, though they are two separate roads.
01Route description
I-283 begins at the Harrisburg East interchange of I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Lower Swatara Township, Dauphin County; this interchange is a trumpet interchange. Past the interchange toll plaza, the road continues north and immediately reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with the PA 283 freeway that also has access to PA 230 via Eisenhower Boulevard. I-283 continues north-northwest as a four-lane freeway, running past business parks before entering areas of farms and woods, crossing into Swatara Township. The road enters commercial areas as it comes to a diamond interchange with PA 441. After that exit, the road continues northwest before turning north and passing an industrial park. I-283 comes to its northern terminus at the Eisenhower Interchange with I-83/US 322 (Capital Beltway), at which point the freeway continues north as part of I-83 northbound/US 322 westbound along the Capital Beltway while I-83 southbound heads west along the Capital Beltway and US 322 eastbound heads east on a freeway.
02History
Construction began on I-283 in 1968. Previously, the Harrisburg East interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike connected directly to Eisenhower Boulevard. The section from the turnpike to PA 441 opened in 1970 and included a short portion of what is now PA 283, connecting Eisenhower Boulevard to the exit 1 cloverleaf. The next year, the Eisenhower Interchange opened to traffic along with the remaining section of Interstate.
As part of a project to reconstruct six miles (9.7 km) of PA 283, the interchange between I-283 and PA 283 was overhauled. The ramp from westbound PA 283 and northbound I-283 was widened to two lanes, and the loop ramp from westbound PA 283 to southbound I-283 toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll plaza was removed and replaced with a left turn and a traffic signal. This eliminated the problem of traffic weaving between the aforementioned loop ramp and the heavily-traveled loop ramp from southbound I-283 to eastbound PA 283. The project was completed in late 2020.
03Exit list
The entire route is in Dauphin County.
| Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Swatara Township | 0.000 | 0.000 | , | , | I-76 Toll / Penna Turnpike , Philadelphia, Pittsburgh | Southern terminus; exit 247 on I-76 / Turnpike | |
| Harrisburg East Toll Plaza | |||||||
| 0.016 | 0.026 | 2 | 1 | PA 283 east to PA 230 , Harrisburg International Airport, Lancaster, Highspire | Signed as exits 1A (PA 283) and 1B (PA 230); access to PA 230 via S. Eisenhower Blvd; last southbound exit before toll | ||
| Swatara Township | 1.860 | 2.993 | 1 | 2 | PA 441 , Swatara | ||
| 2.907 | 4.678 | , | 3 | I-83 / US 322 to I-81 , Harrisburg, Hazleton, State College, Hershey | Northern terminus; signed as exits 3C (US 322 east), 3B (I-83 north/US 322 west) and 3A (I-83 south); exit 46A on I-83 | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Interstate 283”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- I-283.svg by Unknown author, Public domain
- 2021-10-28 15 55 30 View south along Interstate 283 just south of Exit 2 in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.jpg by Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- I-283 NB from PA 441 overpass.jpeg by Dough4872, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.