Daylight Traffic Stops Possible Next Week for Potters Mills Gap Project

Though much of the roadway work requiring traffic stops has shifted to overnight hours, drivers may encounter daytime stops next week for the Potters Mills Gap project on Route 322, according to PennDOT.

Starting on Wednesday, schedule permitting, rock fall work will take place between the Route 322/144 intersection east to Decker Valley Road. The work will make it necessary to stop traffic for 15 minutes at a time in each direction between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Traffic backlogs will be cleared before the next stop occurs.

Motorists are encouraged to build at least 30 minutes of extra travel time into their plans. Passenger vehicles can use alternate routes that add miles but may avoid delays. Those include using Route 45 and Route 144, and Route 26, Route 305, and Route 655.

PennDOT says it cannot guarantee alternate routes will be free of road work or delays.

Drainage and cross-pipe work will continue between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., with roadway flagging and traffic stops.

To alleviate delays, PennDOT will detour westbound traffic from Route 322 and use Route 144 at Potters Mills to Route 45 in Old Fort and back to Route 322 at Oak Hall.

One mile east of Potters Mills, a crossover between Decker Valley Road and Sand Mountain Road, with one lane available in each direction and an 11-foot width restriction, will remain in place through the fall.

Drivers also should be aware of a separate work zone on Route 322 for milling and paving during overnight hours between Sunday and Friday. The work zone will start in Boalsburg and move east to Big Spring Creek. Motorists may encounter delays in this area, with flaggers in the roadway.

The current work is part of phase three of the Potters Mills Gap project, which began in 2015. Phase three will 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. PennDOT expects the new road to be open in the fall of 2020.

Phase one included construction of the new bridge at Sand Mountain Road and phase two created the new interchange for Route 322 and Sand Mountain Road.

The completed project is expected to alleviate congestion and allow traffic to move more safely and efficiently from the Centre-Mifflin County line to Potters Mills.