State Street will be closed between Second Street and the Bayfront Parkway beginning July 21. The road is expected to be closed for a few months.
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic will be detoured, and temporary traffic signals will be installed along the route.
Pedestrians will be able to use State Street during the Tall Ships Erie Festival.
And the City of Erie is making some traffic changes and prohibiting parking on some streets to help prevent congestion due to the planned State Street closing.
The detours
Drivers traveling between the bayfront and downtown will be detoured onto Holland Street, East Third Street and the Bayfront Parkway.
Vehicles will be able to access the waterfront side of the parkway using Holland and East Front and Sassafras street and West Front street extensions.
The State Street intersection with the Bayfront Parkway is shown at top, center.
Pedestrians will be routed along West Third Street, Holland Street and East Front Street.
Walkways will be provided along State Street from Aug. 21-24 to accommodate foot traffic to and from Tall Ships Erie.
The temporary signals
Temporary traffic lights and push-button pedestrian signals will be installed on East Third Street at Holland and French streets.
The pedestrian push-button system already in place at Holland Street and the parkway will be updated to include audible messages.
The signals will remain in place through continued construction on the parkway.
City roadway changes
Because the portion of lower State Street will close and “in the interest of community access, public safety and response times,” the City of Erie will implement detours and parking restrictions beginning July 14.
Sassafras Street Extension will be closed to all but emergency vehicles from the parkway south to the bluff.
West Third Street between Peach and Sassafras streets will be converted from one-way to two-way traffic, with parking prohibited on both sides of the street.
Parking additionally will be prohibited on:
West Second Street from Peach to Sassafras;
East 3rd Street from French Street to Holland Street;
Holland Street from East Third Street to East Sixth Street.
The construction
The two blocks of lower State Street will be closed while drainage pipes are installed under the Bayfront Parkway.
State Street will become a bridge over the parkway when construction at the intersection is completed.
Completed and planned improvements along the downtown portion of the parkway also include roundabouts at Sassafras Street Extension and Holland Street and a pedestrian bridge at Holland Street.
At Holland Street: Early work for construction of pedestrian bridge to begin
More information about the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Central Bayfront Parkway Project is available on the department’s website and Facebook group.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Detours ahead: State Street to close between Second Street and parkway