Road work next week for the Atherton Street project in State College is expected to include a 60-hour closure for a three-block area.
South Atherton Street between West College Avenue and Highland Alley, just past the West Beaver Avenue intersection, is scheduled to be closed in both directions from 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, to 6 p.m. Friday, March 10, for waterline installation, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation news release.
Two official general detours will be in place during the closure, but non-commercial drivers familiar with the area will want to use alternate routes of their choosing.
- Atherton Street Detour: Park Avenue to University Drive, University Drive to Route 26, Route 26 to Route 322/Mount Nittany Expressway. Route 322/Mount Nittany Expressway to Route 3010 (Warner Boulevard)
- Beaver Avenue Detour: Route 45 to Route 322/Mount Nittany Expressway, Route 322/Mount Nittany Expressway to Route 26.
Pedestrian detours also will be implemented and will be adjusted based on where crews are working. The primary crossing point will be at the intersections of South Atherton Street and West College Avenue and South Atherton Street and Highland Alley.
The work is part of the current, multi-year 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 $30.7 million 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 resumed this week and 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 project.
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.
