Future Interstate 99 - North of I-80

Introduction

As you may or may not know construction to extend I-99 north from its current terminus at Bald Eagle PA to I-80 north of State College is under way. Info on this section can be found at PAHighways.com. And only after this is done will any extension north of I-80 be done. But the I-99 routing seems to be set in PennDOTs plans. Theres even future I-99 signs along US 15 north of Williamsport as seen on Tim Reichards Central PA site. (Homepage) But some of these improvements are still a long ways off so I-99 will probably not extend north of I-80 until at least 2012.

NY is planning to upgrade the US 15 / I-86 interchange to freeway to freeway status. And according to Stan Rossman, this project is in anticipation of the I-99 designation reaching I-86. So it seems NY is agreeing with Pa to make the US 15 corridor north of Williamsport the I-99 corridor. Some have suggested extending I-83 north of Harrisburg. But this is very unlikely because the US 15 route north of Harrisburg was upgraded but some parts are still not limited access nor are they planned to be limited access.

Sources of information are various PennDOT sources such as websites and contact with PennDOT offices.

Sections from South to North

Section 1 : I-80 to Salona

This 2+ mile section of US 220 is 2 lane road with only one at-grade intersection. And US 220 meets I-80 at a diamond interchange. I see three issues that need to be addressed on this section. The route has to be dualized to make it 4 lanes. The righ of way for that already seems to be there for that. The at-grade intersection needs to be made grade separated possibly including an interchange. And last, the diamond interchange with I-80 has to be replaced with a freeway to freeway interchange.

Latest Info: At present there is no activity on the required upgrade. The 2001-2012 Twelve Year Program (TYP) carries a project for the upgrade in the 2nd and 3rd four year periods of the TYP. Design and Right-of-Way are in the 2nd four years at $7.2M and Construction is in the 3rd four years at $65M.

Section 2 : Salona to Avis

Section around Avis completed 1977. The rest was completed in 1978. (PA Highways)

Section 3 : Avis to Jersey Shore

Completed 1969 (PA Highways)

Section 4 : Jersey Shore to Larrys Creek

Completed 1970 (PA Highways)

Section 5 : Larrys Creek PA 287 to Williamsport

This section is currently a 4 lane arterial highway. It was constructed as a 4-lane arterial from Larrys Creek which is just east of Jersey Shore to Williamsport around 1960.

PennDOT is not sure whether they will upgrade the current road or build a bypass until the preliminary studies are done. Those studies are anticipated to be done by 2005. For more info visit PENNDOTs website for this project. The website now has the preferred Alignment Maps available for viewing. The two preferred alternatives that were selected were alternative 1 and 2A. Alternative 1 would upgrade the current arterial highway to a freeway and add frontage roads for local traffic. Alternative 2A would have a new freeway built just north of the current highway. Again see the website for details.

Latest Info: The 2001-2012 TYP includes funding for Design, Right-of-Way and Utilities at a total amount of $8.8M. Funding for construction is not currently on the TYP. A very preliminary construction estimate places cost in the $125M range. Based on the very preliminary status of studies, no let date for construction is projected at this time.

Section 6 : Williamsport

Expressway section that I-99 will use from just west of Williamsport to the US 15 interchnage was completed in 1975. (PA Highways)

Latest Info: At the junction of US 220 / I-180 / US 15 it will be necessary to upgrade the existing interchange to criteria for an expressway-to-expressway connection. Nothing is currently programmed on the Twelve Year Program for this interchange upgrade. Based on the amount of road and bridge construction that will be required for the upgrade to meet Interstate criteria costs may be anticipated to be in the range of a similar interchange upgrade at the junction of PA 26/I-99/I-80 at the I-80 Bellefonte Exit (New Exit # 161). Estimated construction cost of the Exit 161 upgrade is $80-$120M.

Section 7 : Williamsport to Hepburnville

Completed October 1990

Section 8 : Hepburnville to above Cogan Station

Completed October 1994

Section 9 : Above Cogan Station to Trout Run

Completed October 1996

Section 10 : Trout Run to Buttonwood

This section is four lane divided highway but not a traditional four lane highway. One roadway is the original local road and the other was added. The added road will eventually be used for I-99. The added route will be dualized and upgraded to limited access and the other road will be left as a local road. Between Trout Run and Stream Valley the added roadway is the eastern one. But just north of Stream Valley the added road switches to be the western road. This section will probably not be upgraded until all the other two lanes sections are upgraded because this section is already four lanes and does not have any major intersections. This section was initialy 4-laned in Jun 1998.

Latest Info: This portion of highway, particularly the southbound lanes from the Summit of Steam Valley Mountain to north of Trout Run, must be upgrade to meet expressway standards that incorporate limited-access with interchanges. Design studies are underway for this portion of the I-99 Corridor. The project appears on the 2001-2012 TYP at a total project cost of $52.9M. A target let date for reconstruction of the southbound lanes from Summit of Steam Valley to Trout Run is Fall 2004. (And completion looks to be in 2006.)

Section 11 : Buttonwood to Sebring

Completed November 1998

Section 12 : Sebring to Bloss Mountain

Completed September 1997

Section 13 : Bloss Mountain to Blossburg

Completed November 2000

Section 14 : Blossburg to Mansfield

This section is two lane road.

Latest Info: From north of Blossburg to South of Mansfield, I-99 continues along the Relocated US 15 alignment. The four lane, limited-access relocation of US 15 is under construction. An earthwork contract was let on 02/14/02 at an award cost of $29.6M. A bridge contract will be let in Summer 2002. The TYP construction cost for the bridge contract is $18.0M. A paving contract for the new four lane roadway is estimated to be $16.4M. Anticipated completion of this portion of roadway is estimated to be late 2004 or early 2005.

Section 15 : Mansfield Bypass

This section is a super-2. It will be dualized at the same time as the Blossburg to Mansfield section is upgraded to freeway status because it seems PennDOT is upgrading US 15 from south to north from Williamsport to the NY state line.

Project website for this section - http://www.route15-mansfield.com/

Latest Info: From South of Mansfield to north of Tioga Borough construction is underway two additional lanes of limited-access highway on the existing four lane, limited-access right-of-way. An earthwork contract was let on 02/08/01 at an award cost of $18.1M. The pavement contract was let on 03/14/02 with an award cost of $18.2M. Estimated completion of this portion of the I-99 Corridor is December 2002. Note that a second structure spanning the Tioga-Hammond Dam impoundment at the confluence of Mill Creek and the impoundment was completed in July 2001 at a construction cost of $9M.

Section 16 : Mansfield Bypass to Preso NY

This section is two lane road and will need a new highway to bypass current US 15 to the freeway stub in NY which leads to I-86. The I-99 Corridor is coincident with the future relocation of US 15 from north of Tioga Borough at the juncture with PA 287 to the PA/NYS Line at Lawrenceville, PA. Studies for this portion of Relocated US 15 are in Final Design. The estimated construction cost for this portion of Relocated US 15 to yield a four lane, limited-access highway is $100M. It is anticipated completion of construction will be late 2006 or early 2007 barring any significant project delays.

Studies for the relocation of US 15 from the PA/NYS Line at Lawrenceville to the existing four lane, limited-access expressway at Presho, NY, are being conducted in conjunction with the PA portion of the US 15/I-99 Corridor from north of Tioga to Lawrenceville. At this time, NYS does not have funding in place to cover completion of the construction of a four lane, limited-access expressway from the PA/NYS Line to Presho; therefore, no projection of completion is currently available.

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