Work on High-Speed Interchange Project Restarting Next Week
CLEARFIELD – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that work on the High-Speed Interchange between Interstates 80 and 99 will start work for the 2025 construction season next week. This project will enhance traffic safety by providing a direct connection between the two highways, making it unnecessary to travel along Route 26 to access them, relieving traffic congestion, and realigning service for local traffic.
On Monday, the contractor will begin excavating along I-80 westbound between mile markers 160 and 158. PennDOT urges drivers to stay alert for trucks entering and exiting the highway and not to follow them behind the concrete barriers.
Flaggers will also be on Route 26 between the eastbound and westbound off-ramps to I-80 on Monday while the contractor completes excavation work and installs drainage. PennDOT urges drivers to exercise caution and obey posted speed limits as it expects flaggers to be in the roadway at 7:00 AM daily until at least Friday, March 7.
On Tuesday, the contractor will close the right (travel) lane of I-80 eastbound between mile markers 158 and 161 at 6:00 PM. PennDOT expects this to be a one-night closure where the contractor reopens the lane by 6:00 AM on Wednesday.
Starting the week of March 10, drivers can expect overnight, single-lane closures on I-99 while the contractor places concrete barriers for a long-term traffic control pattern. PennDOT expects this process to take approximately two days. All work is weather-dependent.
Overall work on this project includes building the interchange, ten bridges, four retaining walls, five box culverts, seven sign structures, and three changeable message boards. It also includes constructing new and rebuilding existing roadways and ramps, drainage improvements, installing Intelligent Transportation Devices, guide rail and highway lighting, pavement marking, stream improvements, and miscellaneous construction. Work will continue through the next six construction seasons, ending in 2030.
Trumbull Corporation of Pittsburgh, PA, is the contractor on this $259 million project. Approximately $170 million of the funding comes from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The high-speed interchange is the next phase of a three-phase project. The first involved the construction of the local access interchange at mile marker 163, which provided direct access between Route 26 and I-80 for local traffic. Construction on that phase occurred over three construction seasons between 2020 and 2022. The contract value was $52 million. That phase benefited from a $35 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding American (INFRA) grant.
The other phase will reconstruct and widen Route 26 to maintain and support the State roadway network. It will feature 11-foot travel lanes and 4-foot shoulders. Excavation work for that project started in November. Active construction on that project will begin in the 2025 construction season.
Completing all three phases will support the regional freight economy and improve the reliability of roadway travel throughout the region.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District2.
Information about infrastructure in District 2, including completed work and significant projects, is available at http://www.penndot.pa.gov/
