PennDOT begins $259M interchange project in Bellefonte to connect I-80 and I-99, reducing congestion. Also replacing a bridge in Erie County for $9.6M. Projects aimed at improving safety, traffic flow, and economic development in the respective regions.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will start construction on the long-awaited $259 million high-speed interchange project between Interstate 80 and I-99 near Bellefonte on Sept.4.
The day before, the state agency will oversee the beginning of an effort to replace a 51-year-old bridge on U.S. Highway 20 in Erie County that will cost $9.6 million.
The Bellefonte project in central Pennsylvania is meant to improve safety and relieve traffic congestion by creating a direct connection between the two interstates and bypassing Pa. Highway 26.
Trumbull Corp. in Pittsburgh, the project's prime contractor, will start with the widening of a 5-mi. stretch of I-80 between mile markers 158 and 163. That section will see traffic reduced to one lane in each direction overnight for about two months, the agency noted. Crews also will work during the daylight hours, but PennDOT does not expect that to affect traffic.
The extensive construction is expected to continue through 2030. Not only will the new interchange be created, but crews will build 10 bridges, four retaining walls and five box culverts.
The last phase of the project will be rebuilding and widening Pa. 26. According to PennDOT, Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., a State College construction company, was named Aug. 22 as the low bidder on the project. Work on that $8.6 million portion of the road project is projected to get under way in 2026.
In April, WPSU, central Pennsylvania's public radio station based in State College, reported that PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll attended the agency's District 2 2024 construction preview in Bellefonte where he said a new "high-speed" interchange between I-80 and I-99 will cut down on congestion.
"Currently, if you're on 99, and you want to go east, you have to make a left-hand turn," he noted. "That backs up traffic in a significant way and having high-speed access to 80 East from 99 solves the problem of the left-hand turn."
Carroll explained that the project also will let drivers get onto I-99 from I-80 without having to deal with stop signs and red lights; instead, drivers will access a high-speed ramp that connects the two interstates. No lane closures are expected to take place as a result of the work.
PennDOT District 2 Executive Thomas Prestash said the interchange project was identified years ago as a major need for the Bellefonte region.
"Once completed, it'll enhance safety for motorists and provide local access connections to [Pa.] 26 and will have a significant impact on economic development," he explained.
Also on hand for last spring's meeting was State Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-35th District, who called the I-99/I-80 interchange project a "tremendous" investment.
"It's not just safety, the road infrastructure, or improvements," he told WPSU. "This is also an investment in jobs and wages — family—sustaining jobs that will be in this area [and] will bring with it all the ancillary benefits as the work is done."
As a result, those benefits "will lead to more economic activity, [and] more economic development in the region," Langerholc said.
U.S. 20 Bridge Replacement to Last One Year
Situated in the far northwestern corner of Pennsylvania near the shores of Lake Erie, construction on a new bridge to carry U.S. Highway 20 over Twenty Mile Creek in Erie County is slated to begin Sept. 3, PennDOT announced in late August.
The U.S. 20/Main Street bridge replacement project in North East Township will include removing the existing three-pier bridge and replacing it with a concrete structure supported by a single pier. The work also will include guiderail and drainage updates.
The bridge replacement's cost is to be paid with a combination of federal and state funds, the Meadville Tribune reported.
The road structure sits between the interchange with I-90 and the New York state line. It was closed to traffic in February following a design analysis of the structure.
According to PennDOT, the existing highway bridge was built in 1973 and is rated in poor condition. On average, approximately 2,500 vehicles a day use the U.S. 20 road structure.
"Since identifying structural concerns with the bridge, PennDOT's northwest region team has worked quickly alongside our consultant to handle the complexities of the design and the environmental considerations and develop a timeline that calls for the roadway to reopen next year," Brian McNulty, a PennDOT District 1 executive, told the Tribune.
Crews will first construct a temporary access roadway prior to the old bridge's removal and a new pier will be built, PennDOT noted.
As Twenty Mile Creek is stocked with trout and is a Lake Erie tributary, in-stream work is limited during certain times of the year, according to the agency. A waiver was granted to complete the demolition and pier construction before the end of this year.
The contractor, Mekis Construction Corp., from Fenelton, Pa., plans to work through the winter months, if the weather allows, so as to have the project completed and the bridge opened next fall.
PennDOT also noted that a detour route has been in place around the work site for a short while and will remain so during each phase of the project. It is posted using I-90 and Shortman Road in New York state.
During the construction, Gulf Road also will be closed at the U.S. 20 intersection, where traffic will be re-routed along Remington Road and Archer Road. In addition, PennDOT said approximately 1,000 ft. of Gay Road between U.S. 20 and Stinson Road also will be closed during the replacement project, but traffic will be allowed to continue on Stinson Road to U.S. 20.
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