Campus Life

Potters Mills work zone to be clear of flagging delays for Arts Fest travelers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Motorists traveling to State College and Penn State’s University Park campus via U.S. Route 322 for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts this week won’t have to contend with flagging delays in the area of Potters Mill Gap, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has announced. 

While work activity will continue during the week of July 9, PennDOT indicated there is no work planned that will impact traffic coming through the area. Drivers are reminded, however, that construction vehicles may be traveling through the work zone and may need to make turns across traffic. 

Additionally, the crossover from Decker Valley Road to Sand Mountain Road remains in place, with one lane available for each direction of traffic. This restriction will be in effect through the fall of this year, along with an 11-foot width restriction. 

Work has been taking place through the Potters Mills area since 2015, when Phase One saw the construction of the new bridge at Sand Mountain Road. In 2016 and 2017, Phase Two created the new local interchange at Sand Mountain Road. PennDOT expects the new roadway to be open to traffic in the fall of 2020. 

The goal of Phase Three is to reconstruct Route 322 from Sand Mountain Road to Potters Mills — including a new Route 322/Route 144 intersection that will be a part of the local access road.

Motorists can stay up-to-date on the latest travel conditions by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA is free and available 24 hours a day and provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 860 traffic cameras. 511PA also is available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts.

The 2018 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will take place July 11 to 15 in downtown State College and at University Park. Children and Youth Day is July 11, and the festival’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition opens July 12.

Last Updated July 9, 2018