Interstate 283

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 I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) 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.

Route 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.

History
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 6 mi of PA 283, the interchange between I-283 and PA 283 is being improved. The ramp from westbound PA 283 and northbound I-283 is being widened to two lanes, and the loop ramp from westbound PA 283 to southbound I-283 toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll plaza will be removed and replaced with a left turn and a traffic signal. This will eliminate 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 is projected to be completed in late 2020.