(Editor’s note: The following compilation is the first in a three-part series detailing the Interstate 99 highway project. Today’s installment gives readers an idea of what the project is. Information was submitted by PENNDOT District 2 Engineering office and acquired from the L. R. Kimball and Associates web site. In tomorrow’s edition, editor John Harlow will explore the financial benefits and positives this 33 mile stretch of highway will bring. In Wednesday’s edition, Daily Herald correspondent Mark Nale will examine the environmental impacts involved with the project.)
Since the early 1970s, state transportation officials knew how dangerous the section of U.S Route 220 between Bald Eagle and Port Matilda was.
Then, the state Department of Transportation decided to design a new roadway that would reduce the number of traffic-related accidents. The project was referred to as the Appalachian Thruway.
The contributing factor to constructing a new roadway was an increase in traffic volumes.
But the project moved slowly.
Then in 1992, an Origin/Destination study was completed and showed that truck traffic along the already dangerous route was also mixing with farm and rural traffic. Officials soon discovered the number of accidents and fatalities on U.S. Route 220 was higher than state average.
From 1996 to 2001, there were nine crashes along the highway that killed 10 people.
Something had to be done.
PENNDOT officials figured out a project that will eventually allow a motorist to travel from the PA Turnpike at Breezewood to Interstate 80 at Bellefonte, on separated, four-lane, limited access highway. This will include a new highway as well as improvements to existing U.S. 322.
The I-99 project here in Northern Blair County and parts of Centre County came into being while the section from Park Avenue in State College out to 220 near Bellefonte was under final design.
The project to relocate the dangerous SR 26 was done to alleviate safety and congestion concerns.
“It all truly began in 1998 with our Bellefonte Bypass widening project,” said Marla Fannin, director of public relations with PENNDOT District 2. “That stretch of road leads to the new 220/I-99 section that is now open. We began with the Bellefonte Bypass because we already had the right of way and needed to connect to I-80 with a four-lane highway.
Work has already begun near the Bald Eagle intersection and continuing on towards state college. Fannin said crews are working on many projects, stating work continues on 322 in and around State College, on I-99 in and around State College, I-99 at Port Matilda and I-99 between Port Matilda and Bald Eagle.
Locally, PENNDOT has divided the project area into three sections. The U.S. Route 220/I-99/SR 6220 project is just one part of the much larger project.
The first section, designed by Orth Rodgers & Associates Inc., extends from the Village of Bald Eagle to the crossing of the North Bald Eagle Creek, south of Port Matilda. This section includes a 9-mile stretch of highway that extends on new alignment along the western side of the Bald Eagle Mountain in Snyder Township and in Taylor Township in Centre County.
The design includes the reconstruction of the existing half-diamond interchange at Bald Eagle to serve as a full-diamond interchange.
The new highway is designed to travel across the western flank of the Bald Eagle Ridge, climbing to an elevation of approximately 1,560 feet. It will then descend the ridge to connect to the next section, just before the highway crosses the North Bald Eagle Creek, south of Port Matilda. The work for this portion of the project will occur in three stages: structures, paving, and grading and drainage.
The second section was designed by HDR Engineering Inc. It will extend from the crossing of North Bald Eagle Creek, south of Port Matilda, to the crossing of North Bald Eagle Creek, north of Port Matilda.
It includes a 2.6-mile stretch of highway on new alignment in Worth Township, Centre County, which will form a northwest loop around the Borough of Port Matilda.
The project begins approximately one mile southwest of Port Matilda, where it joins the fist section at the crossing of existing 220, and ends approximately one mile northeast of Port Matilda, where it will join the next section.
This section also includes the extension of the four-lane section of U.S. 322, with a direct, high-speed interchange to the mainline. In addition to the limited access highway, this section includes a full diamond interchange at existing U.S. 322, just west of Port Matilda, and a partial diamond interchange connecting the new extension of U.S. 322 to Laurel Run Road.
Section three, designed by McCormick, Taylor & Associates Inc., extends from the crossing over North Bald Eagle Creek, north of Port Matilda, to the Mount Nittany Expressway.
It includes a 6.5-mile section of highway on new alignment that climbs the Bald Eagle Mountain in Worth and Huston townships in Centre County.
The section will join the HDR project in the vicinity of the existing U.S. 220 crossing, northeast of Port Matilda Borough. It will then travel the western side of the Bald Eagle Ridge to cross over the mountain at the existing U.S. 322 Skytop area and extend down the mountain to connect to the existing Mount Nittany Expressway in Patton Township.
According to Fannin, construction of the road from Bald Eagle to, and including Exits 161 and 163 of Interstate 80, is currently $830 million. Each direction of the project will feature two, 12-foot lanes with 12-foot shoulders on the right side and 10-foot shoulders on the left. It will be made of Portland cement concrete.
Currently, there are hundreds of work vehicles in Northern Blair County and parts of Centre County that will be used for the work, including a full-range of backhoes (large to supersize), 50-ton off-road vehicles and other excavating equipment.
Some projects have overnight work, but most are on extended shifts of 10-12 hour workdays.
Completion of the project is scheduled for 2007.
