East Bayfront Parkway Safety Improvement Project
Project Overview
This is a safety project on East Bayfront Parkway (Route 4034) from Port Access Road to East 12th Street in the City of Erie, Erie County.
The selected alternative involves the following safety improvements to the area referenced in the design process as the East Bayfront Parkway:
- Raised medians to promote traffic calming and lower travel speeds
- Pedestrian improvements, including crosswalks through the median islands, countdown pedestrian signals, and pedestrian-only phases at some locations
- Traffic lane widths will be reduced by a foot each direction from 12 feet to 11 feet, and a micro-surface will be applied to the pavement
- Five intersections will be updated with advance radar detection, LED signal heads, and phasing will be retimed and coordinated:
- East Bay Street
- Sixth Street
- Eighth Street
- 10th Street
- 12th Street
Work started April 22, 2024 and is expected to be completed in fall 2024. It started at the 12th Street intersection and is progressing toward Port Access Road.
The original contract cost is $4,453,413.21, which is being paid entirely with federal funds.
The contractor is Joseph McCormick Construction Company, Inc. of Erie, PA.
Traffic Impacts
No detours are expected for motorized traffic. There will be lane restrictions and drivers may encounter traffic controlled by flaggers at different phases of the work.
Some work will require short pedestrian detours with no more than one crosswalk closed at any intersection at a time. Detours will be ADA-compliant and will be in place at no more than to two intersections simultaneously.
Project Updates
August 1, 2024 - PennDOT and the City of Erie collaborated to get $730,000 in funding from the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The grant will be used to improve pedestrian safety and reduce the length of the crosswalk on East Sixth Street at the intersection with the Bayfront Parkway.
Work on East Sixth Street is expected to start August 12, 2024. It will include repaving from Perry Street to the Bayfront Parkway, which will be modified to have one lane for westbound through traffic. Additionally, the lane to turn right onto the Bayfront Parkway will be moved 10 feet south and the curb will be relocated to create green space between the roadway and the existing sidewalk. Drainage upgrades, ADA compliant curb ramps and updated signs will also be completed with the funding.