The final two phases of a project that will create a high-speed interchange between Interstates 80 and 99 in Centre County are expected to get underway in the coming months.
They are among 66 new construction projects for 2024 in PennDOT’s District 2 that were highlighted by state Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll and local officials on Wednesday at a press conference in Bellefonte.
Covering District 2’s nine counties in north-central Pennsylvania, the projects total an estimated $378 million and involve approximately 163 miles of paving, 493 miles of roadway sealcoating, rehabilitation of 12 bridges and replacement of 15 bridges. With projects continuing from last year, more than $500 million in bridge and road construction is taking place in the district in 2024, District 2 Executive Thomas Prestash said.
“Our transportation system is key to the connectivity of people and goods and it’s crucial for economic development. And it affects everyone,” Prestash said. “Most importantly when you see all these projects… it includes our highest priority: safety. The selection of these projects are very critical and it cannot be done in a vacuum. Public involvement is key to ensuring that we are meeting the community needs of the traveling public.”
The biggest ticket item starting construction this year is the long-awaited interchange between I-99 and I-80 in Boggs, Spring and Marion townships in the area of the current Bellefonte I-80 exit. PennDOT anticipates letting bids on May 23, with construction beginning about six weeks later, PennDOT District 2 portfolio manager Eric Murnyack said.
Completion of the $246 million interchange is expected in 2030, and it will provide a direct transition between the two highways without stopping.
“It will provide a direct connection between these major corridors,” Prestash said. “This project was identified as a major need for this community many, many years ago, and it’s very gratifying to see it come to fruition. Once completed it will enhance safety for motorists, provide local access connections to Route 26 and will have a significant impact on economic development.”
A related project to improve Route 26/Jacksonville Road from the I-80 Bellefonte exit to Shay Lane in Marion Township will also begin sometime this year. PennDOT is awaiting a permit and hopes to bid the $6.9 million project in June, Murnyack said, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2026.
After Pennsylvania received a $35 million federal grant for the interchange project in 2018, work began in 2020 on the first phase to create a new local access interchange about 2 miles east of the I-80 Bellefonte exit. The new exit 163, completed in 2022, provides access for local traffic to Jacksonville Road, which will no longer be available from the current Bellefonte exit once the high-speed interchange is complete.
Other Centre County transportation projects starting this year that have received state funding include replacement of the Mill Street Bridge in Howard and Railroad Street Bridge in Bellefonte and construction of Masters Boulevard in Patton Township, which will provide access to the Toftrees West development and the new Mount Nittany Health outpatient facility expected to open this year.
Among continuing projects, Atherton Street reconstruction in State College is still on track for completion in the fall, Murnyack said.
The $32 million project got underway in 2022 with a work zone stretching from the Curtin Road intersection on North Atherton Street to just past Westerly Parkway on South Atherton Street. Overall work includes roadway reconstruction, drainage improvements, water and sewer lines, concrete curbing, sidewalks and detectable warning surfaces, pavement markings and traffic signals and supports, as well as a related streetscape improvement project between West College and West Beaver avenues.
Murnyack noted that the contractor has not put in the wearing course, or the finished top surface, in segments, but will do it all at once at the end of the project.
“We’re doing that all at one time,” he said. “…This year, when that’s all done, we’re going to mill from one end to the other and pave it. What that does is lessens the amount of joints you have to put in so in theory it should ride better, but it also means you don’t have to chop it together.”
With all of the road work getting underway around the region and across the state, Carroll and Prestash urged drivers to exercise caution in work zones. That came with a particular emphasis in light of the deaths of three workers who were sealing highway cracks Tuesday night on Interstate 83 in York County when they were struck by a box truck.
“The work that we have is challenging and difficult,” Carroll said. “I ask for the public’s patience when they see a work zone. I prefer not to have a repeat of what we had [Tuesday] night in York County. I ask that the public grudgingly accept that there is going to be a minor delay, but the impacts of mistakes can be tragic and life saving, so please slow down in the work zone; please pay attention in the work zone; and please maintain a fair speed in the work zone so we can minimize accidents.”
