Motorists will encounter a traffic pattern change on Jacksonville Road in Marion Township between the Bellefonte and Howard interchanges of I-80 as work continues on an improvement project connected to the development of a new high-speed interchange, according to PennDOT.
The contractor will reopen the northbound lane of Jacksonville Road heading toward Howard/Jacksonville on Tuesday and close the southbound lane heading toward Bellefonte/State College. Southbound traffic will be required to merge onto I-80 westbound using Walt Road at the 163/Jacksonville interchange and follow it to the 161/Bellefonte interchange to reconnect with Route 26, PennDOT wrote in a news release.
Work to reconstruct and widen the 3-mile section of Jacksonville Road is a companion project to a larger initiative that will ultimately create direct connection between I-80 and I-99 via high-speed ramps constructed in Boggs, Spring and Marion townships in the area of the current Bellefonte I-80 exit. Once the interchange is completed, it will eliminate the need to travel along Route 26 to access either highway, remove stop-controlled intersections and realign service to local traffic.
The $8.6 million Jacksonville Road project, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026, includes increasing the lane and shoulder width, reconstruction of the existing roadway, drainage improvements and guide rail installation. Glenn O. Hawbaker is the contractor.
It’s one of three phases connected to the high-speed interchange project.
The $52 million first phase created a new local access interchange about 2 miles east of the I-80 Bellefonte exit. The new exit 163, completed in 2022, provides access for local traffic to Jacksonville Road, which will no longer be available from the current Bellefonte exit once the high-speed interchange is complete.
Work on the $259 million high-speed interchange itself, meanwhile, began last fall and is scheduled to conclude in 2030. Trumbull Corporation of Pittsburgh is the contractor for the interchange project.
Jacksonville Road between Lyonstown Road and the I-99 interchange in Spring Township is expected to remain closed through the completion of the interchange project.
