Round-the-Clock Work Planned on Atherton Street

Crews will be working day and night on a section of Atherton Street in State College starting next week as PennDOT’s multi-year reconstruction project nears an end.

From Monday, Sept. 30, through Thursday, Oct. 3, and again the week of Oct. 7, crews will mill the road surface between Curtin Road and West Beaver Avenue during daylight hours, according to PennDOT. Overnight, crews will pave the road within the same stretch.

Flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone.

No work will take place from Friday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 6, to minimize the impact on traffic for Penn State’s home football game against UCLA on Oct. 5.

The milling and paving is expected to be the last significant traffic impact of the Atherton Street project, though drivers may encounter short-term lane closures the week of Oct. 14.

PennDOT anticipates the three-year project will wrap up in November.

The current phase of Atherton Street construction, which began in 2022, stretches from Curtin Road to just past Westerly Parkway. Overall work on the $32 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.

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 covered North Atherton Street from its start near Gray’s Woods to Park Avenue.

The next phase is tentatively planned to begin in 2029 and cover Westerly Parkway to University Drive.