This Bellefonte road will close for monthslong project. See planned detour
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- Airport Road in Bellefonte will close for two months for construction.
- Crews will install a new traffic signal and realign an intersection.
- A detour will run around Airport Road using Routes 550 and 64.
A key Bellefonte road will soon close for a monthslong traffic project, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.
Airport Road will close starting Monday, April 20, as crews work to realign an intersection and install a new traffic signal, PennDOT wrote in a release Wednesday. The long-awaited project arrives as one of the last remaining infrastructure upgrades needed for the new Bellefonte Elementary School before it opens in the fall.
Airport Road will close to through traffic between Route 550 and Governor’s Park Road, though local residents will have access to their driveways, PennDOT said. A detour will be offered through Routes 550 and 64 along Nittany Valley Drive, and a temporary roadway will connect Governor’s Park Road and the eastern end of Airport Road for the project’s duration.
The project will realign the intersection of Airport Road and Governor’s Park Road. Additionally, crews will install a new traffic signal at the intersection of Airport Road and Route 550 between East Bishop Street and Zion Road.
PennDOT expects the detour will remain in place for roughly 60 days but said construction schedules are subject to change.
The Bellefonte Area School District school board approved a $1.1 million contract with the State College-based HRI, Inc. construction company to complete the traffic signal project, which is not associated with a PennDOT project. Representatives for the district’s construction management firm, SiteLogIQ, have repeatedly said intersection work along Airport Road is needed before the new elementary school can receive full approvals for occupancy.
Work to construct Bellefonte’s new 98,000-square-foot elementary school began in the summer of 2024. The project, approved at $55.3 million, will construct a sprawling building that can accommodate roughly 750 students between kindergarten and the fifth grade, complete with outdoor learning spaces, a STEM lab, a media center and more.
The district’s Bellefonte and Benner elementary schools will close at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year. The new elementary school will retain the name of the district’s oldest building.
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