Interchange project work expected to cause ‘significant impacts’ on I-99 traffic this week
The ongoing $259 million Interstate 99/Interstate 80 interchange project is expected to cause “significant impacts” to traffic on a portion of I-99 on Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The relocation of overhead utility wires on the highway will cause rolling slowdowns and stoppages starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, PennDOT wrote in a news release. Northbound and southbound traffic on I-99 between the Bellefonte/Zion exit at mile marker 83 and state Route 26 are expected to be impacted all day as Verizon, Zito Media and Trumbull Corporation conduct the work.
“PennDOT anticipates stoppages of 15 consecutive minutes before the contractor releases queued traffic,” the release stated. “PennDOT expects this to be a daylong process lasting until approximately 4 p.m.”
Similar wire relocations also took place in late October along I-80.
PennDOT urges drivers passing through the affected area to “build extra time into their travel schedules.”
Following the completion of the relocations, weather permitting, the contractor will then begin the placement of concrete barriers along I-80 eastbound between mile markers 158 and 161 as part of the project’s long-term traffic control pattern. This work is expected to take place overnight between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The final phases of the long-awaited, highly-anticipated project will use high-speed ramps to create a direct connection between the top two highways in Centre County. Drivers will no longer need to use Route 26 to access either of the interstates.
Construction began this summer and is expected to be completed by 2030. About $170 million of the project’s funding came from the $1 trillion federal infrastructure legislation that passed in 2021.
Building the new high-speed interchange is the second phase of a three-part project.
The first involved the construction of a new, $52 million interchange that gave local drivers direct access between Route 26 and I-80.
Construction began in 2020 and was completed in 2022. The final phase is to reconstruct and widen Route 26.
State College-based contractor Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. was named the apparent low bidder at $8.6 million. Work is to begin in 2026.