State College, PA –The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) alerted drivers to an upcoming traffic pattern shift in its Route 26/45 intersection work zone located about 1 ½ miles north of Pine Grove Mills. The contractor plans to remove the split for Route 45 westbound traffic it implemented earlier this month on Monday, October 17.

The contractor will remove the split and direct traffic onto the new concrete roadway. PennDOT reminds drivers that lane widths throughout the work zone are reduced to 10 feet and urges drivers of wider vehicles to find an alternate route. It also reminds drivers they may encounter flaggers in the roadway throughout the work zone as they enforce short-term daylight lane closures.

PennDOT reminds drivers that lane widths through the work zone are reduced to 10 feet and urges drivers of wider vehicles to find an alternate route.

Crews will not work between 6:00 AM Friday, October 21 and 6:00 PM Sunday, October 23, to facilitate traffic flow to and from Penn State's home football matchup against Minnesota.

Overall work on this project includes constructing turning lanes, widening, roadway realignment, drainage improvements, guide rail installation, permanent traffic signals, and miscellaneous construction. Other work includes replacing an 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 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; Timothy Nebgen, 814-765-0598

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