After shutting down in December, work on the multi-year Atherton Street project is expected to resume next week, according to PennDOT.
Crews will be saw-cutting from Monday, Feb. 27, through Thursday, March 2, on South Atherton Street between West College and West Beaver avenues. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions and signals will be in flash mode with flaggers controlling flow of traffic at the intersections when needed. Traffic on College Avenue approaching Atherton Street also will experience some delays.
That work will be done in preparation for waterline installation, which may begin as early as March 7. Waterline work will require a 60-hour detour on Atherton Street between College and Beaver avenues.
The current Atherton Street project — which stretches from the Curtin Road intersection on North Atherton to just past the Westerly Parkway intersection on South Atherton — began in 2022, with sewer line replacement constituting the major work.
Expected to conclude in the fall of 2024, the overall project includes roadway reconstruction, drainage improvements, water and sewer lines, concrete curbing, sidewalks and detectable warning surfaces, pavement markings and traffic signals and supports.
Work in 2023 is scheduled to include water line replacement from College Avenue to Westerly Parkway and drainage and streetscape improvements. In 2024, drainage improvements will take place at the north and south ends of the project and the entire project area will be milled and paved by the end of the year.
HRI, Inc. of State College is the contractor for the $30.7 million job.
It’s the third phase of Atherton Street work originating from a 2010 review of the entire corridor that showed a need for repairs and upgrades, primarily for drainage. The first two phases of improvements, similar to the current work, took place from the start of North Atherton Street near Gray’s Woods to Park Avenue.
