A contractor this week will install electronic billboard signs along Atherton Street and synchronize 17 stoplights for better traffic flow in the Centre Region corridor, the state Department of Transportation announced.
The lights, running from the Valley Vista Drive intersection on North Atherton Street to the Rolling Ridge Drive area on South Atherton Street, stretch across several miles in and around State College borough. Workers also will install seven live traffic cameras as part of the project, PennDOT spokeswoman Dawn Walls said.
She said PennDOT workers at a regional office in Clearfield will use the cameras to monitor Atherton traffic activity and to identify problem areas. Live images will be shared with the public via a transportation website, https://www.511pa.com.
The cameras will not be used to watch for motorists who run red lights, Walls said. She emphasized that the project is meant only to address and reduce congestion in the area.
She said the electronic, billboard-style signs will be placed in two places: one near Valley Vista Drive, the other near Rolling Ridge Drive. They will be similar to ones placed on Interstate 80 and will relay to motorists a variety of messages, including alerts about traffic problems and safety campaigns, Walls said.
Pittsburgh-based Wellington Power Corporation has a $1.4 million contract with PennDOT to complete the work this week. Starting 9 a.m. on Wednesday and on Thursday, State College-bound traffic on Atherton near Rolling Ridge Drive will be reduced to one lane as work continues.
The lane reduction is expected to be in effect throughout both days, and PennDOT has advised drivers to be alert.
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