The $3.7 million state Route 199 bridge replacement project is officially under way, according to Rick Mason, the public information officer for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 3-0.
    The project consists of the construction of a new bridge on Route 199 over the railroad tracks and relocating the state highway’s intersection with U.S. Route 220 by 300 feet to the north.
    The new bridge will be a one-span structure, which will replace the current three-span bridge that extends over the railroad tracks and was constructed back in the 1930s.
    The project also includes the designation of a left-hand turning lane on Route 220 southbound at the new Route 199 intersection and the doubling in the length of the deceleration lane into Route 199 for motorists traveling northbound on Route 220.
    Beginning in the last week of September of this year, the current Route 199-220 intersection will be closed for approximately three weeks for completion of the paving for the realignment, said Mason.
    The bridge replacement is just the first phase of the overall project, said Mason.
    The second phase of this endeavor on Route 199 will begin in April of next year with the rehabilitation of the two bridges over the Chemung River and the Chemung River overflow channel in the township, said Mason.
    During this work, traffic will be restricted to one lane, and will be controlled by traffic signals and signs, said Mason.
    All the construction under this project will be completed by September of next year, he added.
    Chemung Contracting Corp. from Pine City, N.Y., is the prime contractor for this endeavor, Mason said.
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    Warren Howeler can be reached at whoweler@morning-times.com