Highway to open in 2008

State officials said Thursday that they are no longer considering opening the 8-mile section of Interstate 99 to Port Matilda ahead of the 1.5-mile Skytop section, and they expect I-99 to be open all the way through by May or June 2008.

Ben LaParne, PennDOT assistant district executive for construction, said the section from Bald Eagle village in Blair County to the Port Matilda interchange is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2007, and PennDOT had considered opening that section to traffic before completing the Skytop work.

But LaParne said Thursday that the Port Matilda intersection of U.S. routes 322 and 220 would be overtaxed by traffic getting on and off I-99 at the off-ramp just north of the borough. The transition would likely take place over the winter months, adding to the disadvantages of the partial opening.

Commuters and people who live along old U.S. Route 220 have been waiting for years for the new four-lane, limited access I-99 to open because the presence of long-haul trucks makes driving the narrow two-lane perilous.

Work on the Skytop section of I-99 has been delayed for more than two years because PennDOT unearthed a million cubic yards of acid-generating rocks that have been contaminating streams and ground water. PennDOT plans to move most of the rocks and treat the immovable material at Skytop.

Dan Alters, state Department of Environmental Protection water quality manager, said Thursday that he expects to approve PennDOT's permit for handling the immovable material by the end of next week, and LaParne said PennDOT will get to work immediately.

LaParne said the first task will be to put permanent caps over the pyritic fill areas that will not be moved, including the 264,000 cubic yards used under the already paved section of I-99. He said contractor HRI has been told to alert subcontractors to put suppliers of liners on notice that orders are in the offing.

Kevin Kline, PennDOT District 2 executive, said extra precautions are being taken to protect acidic runoff treatment ponds from washing out during the expected heavy rains today and Saturday.

The treatment ponds have been drawn down as much as possible to make room for a lot of runoff, and HRI has been put on a 24-hour call in case stopgap measures are necessary to make repairs.

"Everybody's prepared for it," LaParne said.

Mike Joseph can be reached at 235-3910.