I was last in Williamsport in May, and as of then, I can guarantee that the section from I-180 to the NY state line was posted US 15 only. The “Future I-99 Corridor” signs have been posted sporadically between Williamsport and Corning for more than a decade. I recall the one in Williamsport being posted around 2000.
Are there any plans in the near future to build that section west of Williamsport?
To my knowledge, no–not in the foreseeable future.
The entire 180/220 corridor, from the US 220/I-80 interchange west of Lock Haven to the I-180/I-80 interchange near Milton, was planned to be a continuous freeway as early as the 1960s. It was being promoted as the Susquehanna Beltway, which is the reason people in the Williamsport area typically refer to I-180 as “The Beltway” . So the freeway gap between Williamsport and Jersey Shore is already a delay in a 50-year-old project.
There was a flurry of activity around 2002-2003 regarding completion of that missing section. PennDOT created a project website (still viewable on the Internet Archive
here), but as of April 2004, the home page of the site reported that PennDOT Secretary Biehler ordered all work on the project halted, and it was dropped from PennDOTs Twelve-Year Plan.
The project is not mentioned on the recent “Decade of Investment” plan. Without a ruthless politician like Shuster willing to divert funds from more deserving projects just to realize the dream of a continuous 99, I have doubts the gap will ever be completed. And further, there isn’t the overwhelming public outcry for a new freeway–contrast that with the CSVT link bypassing the congested Shamokin Dam strip. People have been begging for that to be completed for years, and four decades later, it’s just now showing signs of being built by 2025.
I saw a reference to an interchange project on US 220 a mile or so north of I-80. But noting more.
There is another much shorter gap in the freeway between the PA 477 interchange and I-80. But despite having a single at-grade intersection, this roughly three-mile section is more like a super-two in that it was built with PA ’70s spec grading, bridges, and shoulders, and the right-of-way leaves room for a new carriageway with two northbound lanes to be built alongside the existing two lanes.
Construction is already underway for a diamond interchange to replace the at-grade intersection with Fairground Road, but I haven’t yet seen any other work on grading or constructing the northbound lanes. If they’re trying to complete the freeway, PennDOT will also need to completely reconstruct the current diamond interchange with I-80.
Does anyone know anything about the I-180/US 15/US 220/Fut I-99 interchange in Williamsport? Would that need to be reconstructed, or is it be close enough to meet standards?
The current I-180/US 220/US 15 interchange is continuous, but in its current configuration, would require through I-99 traffic to exit via a one-lane ramp, make a 180° hairpin turn (which I believe is posted at 20 M.P.H.) and merge quickly onto itself from a ramp that almost immediately becomes an exit only lane for Third Street.
When I attended the unveiling ceremony of the “Future I-99 Corridor” sign, the PennDOT spokesperson in attendance said that the interchange “...would definitely be replaced with a high-speed design.”
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Topic: I-99 in NY - it's official (Read 46082 times)