"To prevent severe congestion of small, town streets when I-81 closures divert traffic onto Route 11." That is the reason the Town of Williamsport gave the State Highway Administration when it asked, in 2023, for a study of moving the Route 11 bridge north of town. The request appears in the Washington County Community Coalition's 2026 legislative booklet.
The phrase tells you something about Williamsport that a drive-time estimate won't. The town's commute runs on two routes that depend on each other. One is I-81, which the state is about to widen. The other is a century-old river crossing that catches the interstate's traffic whenever I-81 stops moving, and no current plan pays to fix it. If you're comparing Williamsport with other parts of Washington County, both routes belong in the decision. Over the next several years, they'll behave differently.
The Bridge That Takes the Overflow
According to the coalition booklet, the Route 11 Bridge was built in 1909. It crosses the C&O Canal, Riverbottom Park, and the Potomac River, and it links western Washington County with the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. About 15,000 vehicles cross it every day.
The condition record is short and specific:
- May 2018: The State Highway Administration reported the bridge's superstructure and deck were one point from a "Poor" rating.
- 2023: Williamsport asked SHA to look at relocating a new bridge north of town.
- 2024: MDOT produced an informal "Transportation Study," which the coalition says "offered limited insight."
- Current request: The town wants a formal Planning and Environmental Linkage study. If relocation turns out to be feasible, a full NEPA study would come next. If it doesn't, the town is asking the state to fund re-decking the existing bridge.
The 2026 General Assembly session didn't move it forward. Washington County's October 13, 2026 agenda packet lists "No action taken on Rt. 11 Bridge in Williamsport" among the coalition's unfunded or missed priorities. So the backup route for Williamsport traffic is the same aging structure it was in 2018, and there's no study funded yet that would decide its future.
Where Six Lanes Become Four
The bridge matters this much because of where Williamsport sits on I-81. Phase 1 of the state's widening program added a third lane in each direction from US 11 in West Virginia to just north of MD 63/MD 68, including the Potomac River bridges, and MDOT lists it as completed in 2021. At the center of that work was the new Potomac River bridge. SHA announced the bridge project complete on February 11, 2021, describing it as a four-year, $104.6 million effort.
North of MD 63/MD 68, the interstate is still four through lanes. That means the six-lane section ends at Williamsport's doorstep, and the town's US 11 interchange, Exit 2, sits in the four-lane stretch beyond it.
Here's how heavily that stretch is used. SHA's 2025 traffic count dataset shows 74,410 vehicles a day at a station 0.40 mile south of US 11. Of those, 18,756 were trucks, or about one vehicle in four. The state's FY2027–2032 Consolidated Transportation Program puts 2026 traffic on the project corridor at 65,600 to 86,700 vehicles a day. It projects 77,900 to 98,800 by 2046.
A road carrying that much freight at a lane drop will have closures. When it does, the town told the state, the traffic ends up on Route 11 and across the 1909 bridge. For a Williamsport household, the commute you'll actually live with depends on how often I-81 stops moving as much as on the mileage.
Phase 2A Has a Bid Date
The interstate side of this is finally on a contract schedule. SHA's Contractors Ad Schedule Report as of October 21, 2026 lists contract WA0925272 on I-81, "MD 63/MD 68 to I-70," as a six-lane divided construction job in cost class J. That class covers estimates from $50 million to $75 million.
- October 27, 2026: scheduled advertisement date.
- December 3, 2026: scheduled bid date.
- February 8, 2027: scheduled notice to proceed.
- Spring 2027: construction start, per the county's draft 2027 legislative agenda.
- Spring 2028: estimated start of Phase 2B, from I-70 to north of Halfway Boulevard.
- 2031–32: estimated completion of all of Phase 2.
The state's project description adds a lane in each direction, taking I-81 from four to six through lanes. It also improves three interchanges: US 11 in Williamsport, I-70, and Halfway Boulevard. Intelligent transportation system devices, stormwater work, and two noise-barrier systems are part of the package. The CTP splits the work so that Phase 2A runs from north of MD 63/MD 68 to I-70. That puts the Williamsport interchange in the first contract to be built.
The Spending Schedule Shows When the Work Zone Peaks
The CTP's construction cash flow shows when the work will be heaviest. In thousands of dollars:
| Fiscal year | Programmed construction spending |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $6,532 |
| 2028 | $25,673 |
| 2029 | $41,502 |
| 2030 | $36,642 |
| 2031 | $20,492 |
| 2032 | $18,433 |
Construction totals $149.3 million of a $171.6 million project estimate. Almost half the construction money is scheduled for fiscal 2029 and 2030. Someone who buys in Williamsport this winter would be commuting through the busiest part of that schedule in their third and fourth years of ownership. A seller listing in 2028 or 2029 would be showing a house to buyers who drove in through the same orange barrels.
The estimate has changed a lot along the way. In April 2025, The Herald-Mail reported a $99.1 million estimate from Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld, along with a mid-2027 start and four years of construction. By January 2026, The Herald-Mail reported that the cost had risen $66.9 million since the state's autumn update, though the project was still on track to start in 2027. The newest CTP actually shows a decrease from the prior plan, which it attributes to a revised estimate for starting Phase 2A earlier. The schedule has held through all of this, and that matters more to a commuter than the price tag.
What Phase 2 Leaves Unchanged
The widening ends north of Halfway Boulevard. Phases 3 and 4, which would carry it to the Pennsylvania line, have no design or construction funding. The county packet says MDOT's updated cost estimates for those phases "significantly increased," and county staff plan to produce their own numbers to compare. The same section notes that the coalition wants more data on how I-81 shutdowns affect emergency response times and how traffic spills onto secondary routes. That's the Route 11 problem described at the county level.
One relief valve has already opened. Washington County marked the Halfway Boulevard extension complete on December 16, 2025. The project built 3,250 feet of four-lane road connecting MD 63, Greencastle Pike, to Halfway Boulevard at Newgate Boulevard, and the county describes it as an alternate route between I-81 and I-70. That helps traffic moving between the two interstates north of town. It doesn't add a second way across the Potomac.
The same session did put money into Williamsport itself. The county packet lists FY27 allocations of $800,000 for Byron Memorial Park, $675,000 for the Williamsport Library, and $25,000 for the Williamsport Business Façade Improvement Program. State investment in the town is going to its parks, library, and storefronts. The bridge is still waiting for a study.
Questions Worth Asking Before an Offer
Will the US 11 interchange look different when Phase 2 is done?
The state's documents say the US 11 interchange in Williamsport will be improved. They don't lay out ramp designs, and they don't say where the two noise-barrier systems will go. That level of detail usually shows up in SHA's construction-phase materials.
Does the widening reduce the chance of detours through town?
The state's stated purpose is to improve mobility, handle heavy truck volumes, and add capacity for planned development. MDOT's earlier project narrative, using 2015–2019 data, reported a truck crash rate on I-81 of 13.2 per million vehicle miles traveled, against a statewide rate of 5.0. Those figures describe the problem the project is built to address. Until the work is finished, they can't tell you how often closures will happen afterward.
Where can I track the contract?
SHA's Contractors Ad Schedule Report lists contract WA0925272 with its dates. The bid opening on December 3, 2026 is the next milestone.
If you're pricing a Williamsport home this year, or deciding whether to buy before the Phase 2A work peaks, our team can go through how this construction timeline lines up with your own sale or purchase dates. Steven L Powell and the team have worked this corridor for more than 26 years. Request a Private Home Valuation, and we'll include the I-81 schedule in the conversation.
