Shiloh Road to See Millions in Traffic Improvements as Development Grows

With a hotel already under construction, hundreds of new residential units planned and other development in the works, the Shiloh Road corridor is preparing for major changes.

And with that growth comes more traffic.

As construction projects continue across Centre County, state and local officials gathered Friday for a press conference to highlight more than $3.6 million in state funding for road improvements along Shiloh Road in College and Benner townships.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll joined local officials, legislators and developers to discuss the project, along with other transportation investments throughout the region.

The improvements come as traffic along the corridor is expected to increase significantly with new residential and commercial development.

According to estimates shared by College Township officials last year, average daily vehicle trips on Shiloh Road could increase from 13,250 to 44,074 once developments in the corridor are fully built out, a process that could take a decade or longer.

“But that growth requires a transportation network that’s safe and efficient,” Carroll said. “And so improvements were necessary in this corridor.”

The project includes traffic signals at Shiloh Road’s intersections with Trout Road, Spring Valley Road and a future access road for the Crew814 residential development. Additional turning lanes, pavement markings and other roadway modifications are also planned.

PennDOT project manager Trenton Stouffer told StateCollege.com that construction will take place in two phases, with the first already underway near Shiloh and East Trout roads.

Work on the first phase is expected to continue into spring 2027, while the second phase is anticipated to begin in summer 2027.

Stouffer said the improvements are intended to accommodate additional traffic from nearby developments while making the corridor safer for drivers and pedestrians. The improvements will result in fewer traffic stoppages and conflicts between through and turning traffic due to new and extended turn lanes at key intersections and site access points, according to PennDOT.

Carroll told StateCollege.com following Friday’s event that PennDOT will continue monitoring traffic volumes and traffic signal timing as development progresses.

He said additional improvements could be needed in the future, depending on how much the area grows and the traffic generated by new developments.

The state funding includes $2.7 million in Transportation Infrastructure Investment Funds and approximately $925,000 through PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.

The overall project was previously estimated to cost $5.85 million, including contributions from private developers.

Development Along Shiloh Road

Among the developments planned for the corridor is Burkentine Builders’ 48-acre Crew814 residential project on the west side of Shiloh Road, north of Trout Road.

College Township Council approved the first phase in December 2025, which includes 197 townhomes and apartments, along with a community center, pool and other recreational amenities. A second phase would bring the development to 629 residential units, along with a 6.4-acre commercial lot.

Across Shiloh Road, construction is underway on a 115-room Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in the Shiloh Commercial Park on the Maxwell Trucking & Excavating property, where Friday’s press conference was held. A Park Home Furniture store is also in the planning stages for the new commercial park, which will have eight total lots available for development

Further north, Ferris Land Development acquired a 44-acre property on the west side of Shiloh Road in College and Benner townships, and legislation is pending to sell an adjacent, landlocked and unused 9-acre parcel owned by the state to the developer. Ferris Land Development, which is owned by Bobby Rahal Automotive CEO Ron Ferris, has not publicly revealed plans for the property, but has helped lead efforts to coordinate traffic improvements in the corridor.

Another large parcel, the 120-acre Clair family tract at the northeast end of Shiloh Road, is also ripe for development, though no plans have been publicly announced for it.

The roadway project grew out of a broader planning effort involving the four major development properties along the corridor, with PennDOT, College and Benner townships and private developers working together to coordinate the improvements.

The partnership began taking shape in March 2024, when representatives met with PennDOT to discuss the area’s future transportation needs.

Eric Bernier, chair of the Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization and a College Township council member, recalled a time when development in the area looked much different.

About 30 years ago, when the nearby Walmart was being developed, College Township required improvements to Trout Road, which was then a gravel road.

Bernier said representatives from Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, questioned the requirement, arguing that customers would access the store from Benner Pike.

“They complained that they would be forced to build, and I quote, ‘the million-dollar road to nowhere,’” Bernier said.

Now, with several developments planned along Shiloh Road, Bernier said the area is showing how much transportation needs can change over time.

He described the partnership as an example of planning ahead and “anticipating long-term shifts before they become traffic crises.”

LeRoy Kline of consulting firm Delta Development, which helped coordinate the partnership, said the effort involved four separate development projects, two townships, three public funding applications and 28 drafts of the private development partnership agreement.

“There were a couple of times where it almost fell apart,” Kline said.

Kline credited the cooperation among PennDOT, local officials, legislators and the developers with helping the project move forward.

He said the planned developments cover approximately 224 acres and could create more than 400 jobs, with a projected annual contribution of more than $3.5 million to the local tax base.

State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, said the partnership allows developers to share the cost of road improvements rather than leaving one developer responsible for infrastructure that will benefit the entire corridor.

“We talk about the lights and the roads and curbs and everything else that people don’t think about,” Benninghoff said.

He said the improvements will remain in place even if the properties change ownership, benefiting future development and the surrounding community.

State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, who previously served on College Township Council, said the area’s continued growth presents opportunities for additional development but also makes planning for the future important.

Carroll also pointed to the cooperation among the developers and municipalities as an unusual approach to addressing transportation needs.

“The uniqueness of this is the coordination among four developers, and the leadership of the folks in College Township and Benner Township to meet the needs of the community and align that with the growth,” Carroll told StateCollege.com.

Additional Road Improvements Across Centre County

The Shiloh Road project was one of several transportation investments highlighted during Friday’s event.

PennDOT District 2 Executive Tom Prestash said the state’s Rapid Deployment Program will provide an additional $51.9 million for paving projects over the next 18 months across the district’s nine-county region.

In 2026, the district is putting an additional 63 miles of paving projects out for bid, representing more than $28 million in improvements.

In Centre County, approximately $7.4 million in paving projects covering 12.5 miles were put out for bid in September, including improvements along Route 322 in Potter Township, Route 26 in College Township and Route 150 in Bellefonte.

Prestash said the additional funding will increase the district’s 2026 paving program by more than 50%.

The investments are part of a broader $775 million statewide initiative to accelerate road repairs, with an initial $250 million allocated to 79 projects across Pennsylvania.

Work on Shiloh Road is already underway, with additional construction planned throughout 2027 as the corridor prepares for more residential and commercial development.