State College, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), announced today that motorists traveling through the Route 26/Route 45 intersection project located about 1½ miles north of Pine Grove Mills should anticipate delays next week.

The contractor will be paving the temporary road and preparing to shift Route 26 traffic onto it. Additionally, temporary widening of the eastbound shoulder of Route 45 will continue. This work requires the contractor to implement lane closures, and drivers will encounter flaggers in the roadway throughout the project limits. PennDOT expects the most significant traffic impacts Wednesday, April 27, through Friday, April 28.

PennDOT reminds drivers the contractor reduced travel lane widths to 10-feet throughout the work zone. It also reminded football traffic for tomorrow's Penn State Blue/White football game that no lane closures are in place this weekend.

Overall work on this project includes constructing turning lanes, widening, roadway realignment, drainage improvements, guide rail installation, permanent traffic signals, and miscellaneous construction. The project will also replace the existing concrete bridge with a single span box beam bridge.

By realigning the intersection, adding a traffic signal, overhead lighting, and turning lanes, PennDOT expects a better flow of traffic, safer turning maneuverability from all directions, and reduced congestion during high traffic volume events locally.

Charles C. Merlo Inc. of Mineral Point, PA, is the contractor on this $5 million project, which is PennDOT expects to be complete by mid-November.

Changeable message boards will be in place to alert drivers to the work zone. PennDOT reminds drivers to exercise caution in this and all work zones, obey posted speed limits and always buckle up.

Motorists are encouraged to "Know Before They Go" by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles 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 Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Subscribe to PennDOT news in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties at www.penndot.gov/District2.

Information about infrastructure in District 2, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.gov/D2Results.

Find PennDOT's planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.

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  MEDIA CONTACT:  Marla Fannin 814-765-0423

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