Interstate 99

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Interstate 99 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	51.2 mi[1] (82.4 km)
Formed:	1998
South end:	I-70/I-76/PA Tpk/US 220 near Bedford
Major junctions:	US 22 near Altoona
North end:	Northbound: US 220/US 322 near State College Southbound: US 322 near Port Matilda
Pennsylvania State Routes < PA 98 PA 99 > Minor - Legislative
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Interstate 99 (abbreviated I-99) is a partially completed main route of the Interstate Highway System in central Pennsylvania. The current southern terminus is at exit 146 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 70 and Interstate 76) north of Bedford, where the road continues south as U.S. Route 220. The northern terminus is currently at U.S. Route 322 near State College, where I-99 exits onto a temporary interchange with U.S. 322. Currently, all of I-99 runs concurrent to US 220.

Unlike most Interstate numbers, which are assigned by AASHTO to fit into a grid, I-99's number was written into Section 332 of the National Highway Designation Act of 1995 by Bud Shuster, then-chair of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the bill's sponsor, and the representative of the district through which the highway runs. The number "99" violates the AASHTO numbering convention associated with Interstate highways. Under this system, the lowest numbers start on the West Coast progressing in order to the highest numbers on the East Coast. Several north-south routes, including Interstates 81, 83, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, and 97 all lie east of Interstate 99.^[2] This inconsistency irks many road enthusiasts, and some have expressed their disapproval of this in various forums, proposing alternative designations including I-81,^[3] I-83,^[4] I-170,^[5] I-576,^[6] I-776, I-976,^[7] or I-980.^[8] The Federal Highway Administration addresses this issue in the "Interstate FAQ" on their web site, explaining that the designation can only be changed by an act of Congress.^[9]

When construction on I-99 is completed, the southern terminus of the route will be at an interchange with Interstate 68 in Cumberland, Maryland. The northern terminus will be at an interchange with Interstate 86 in Corning, New York.

[edit] Route description

While the current road runs from Bedford past Bald Eagle to Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, future plans have this road starting from the Pennsylvania-Maryland border mostly along U.S. Route 220 and then continuing northward along U.S. Route 15 towards the New York state line. Current plans have this road ending at Interstate 80 near Bellefonte.

The names given to this road include the Bud Shuster Highway and Appalachian Thruway; the latter name continues north with US 220 and US 15.

Within Pennsylvania, the road ran 51.2 miles (82.4 km)^[1], all concurrent with U.S. Route 220, from an indirect connection with the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 70 and Interstate 76) near Bedford north past Altoona to a temporary terminus at U.S. Route 322. Immediate plans will extend it northeast past State College to Interstate 80 near Bellefonte.

[edit] Bedford to Altoona

Interstate 99 currently begins as a continuation of the two lane portion of U.S. Route 220 from Maryland near the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76). The interchange with the turnpike requires drivers to get onto Old U.S. Route 220 near Bedford in order to connect to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

This route continues north towards Altoona.

[edit] Altoona to Port Matilda

From Altoona, the highway has a large intersection with U.S. Route 22 in Hollidaysburg. This interchange allows travellers to head west towards Ebensburg and Johnstown. Pennsylvania Route 764 intersects further at Bellwood.

Northward towards Tyrone, Interstate 99 runs along one of the older sections of the highways when U.S. Route 220 was first converted to a limited access highway.

In Tyrone itself, Interstate 99 is a short elevated expressway at Pennsylvania Route 453. This section is notorious for speed traps as many cars heading downhill from Bald Eagle must brake in order to stay within the speed limit.

Until the end of 2007, the highway ended north of Tyrone at the village of Bald Eagle, where traffic was diverted on to U.S. Route 220. On December 22, 2007, after several long construction delays, the section from Bald Eagle to Port Matilda was opened to traffic. Northbound traffic is currently diverted to U.S. Route 322 eastbound, locally known as Sky Top Mountain Road, north of Port Matilda at the crest of Bald Eagle Mountain. Southbound traffic can enter the highway one exit further south, from U.S. Route 322 eastbound at Port Matilda. The southbound lanes in the section between these two exits remains closed for the remediation of the acidic rock.^[10]

[edit] History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Interstate 99 excavation in 2002, looking south from Julian toward Port Matilda on Bald Eagle Mountain, where acidic rock was exposed. U.S. Route 322/220 (Skytop Mountain Road), runs below the I-99 alignment. Eagle Field private airport is at the upper left

Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System was assigned in 1965, running from Cumberland, Maryland (Corridor E, now Interstate 68) to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (Interstate 80) along U.S. Route 220. The portion in Pennsylvania, from Bedford north to Bald Eagle, was upgraded to a freeway in stages from 1970 to 1995.

As the interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bedford was built long before the new freeway opened, there is no direct freeway-to-freeway access between the Turnpike (I-70 and I-76) and I-99. Traffic must use U.S. Route 220 Business, the old alignment of US 220 before the freeway.

In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) was signed into law. It included a number of High Priority Corridors, one of which - Corridor 9 - ran along US 220 from Bedford to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and then north on U.S. Route 15 to Corning, New York.

The National Highway Designation Act of 1995 amended ISTEA; among these amendments were that "the portion of the route referred to in subsection (c)(9) [Corridor 9] is designated as Interstate Route I-99." This was the first Interstate number to be written into law rather than assigned by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). (Interstate 73 and the extension of Interstate 74 had been defined in 1991 by ISTEA as the "I-73/74 North-South Corridor", but not officially added to the Interstate Highway System or assigned those numbers.)

On November 6, 1998, AASHTO approved the I-99 designation from Bedford to Bald Eagle. Since then, the connection through the Nittany Valley between the existing State College bypass on U.S. Route 322 and Interstate 80 has been built (the northernmost piece was widened from a two-lane freeway in 1997). On its completion in 2002, U.S. Route 220 was rerouted via US 322 and the new road, and the old US 220 north of US 322 was designated U.S. Route 220 Alternate.

The road through the Bald Eagle Valley between Bald Eagle and State College is presently under construction, and the interchange with I-80 is not up to Interstate Highway standards. Construction has been delayed since 2004 by complaints from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection about acidic surface runoff from unearthed pyritic rock leaking into the groundwater and nearby creeks draining to the Bald Eagle Creek. Excavation began in late 2002, and a year later, more than 3 million cubic meters of excavation spoils had been generated, with up to 30% from a 200 meter vein of Ordovician sandstone containing iron sulfide, or iron pyrite. When exposed to air and water, these minerals produced sulfuric acid, contaminating both surface runoff and groundwater^[11].

PennDOT halted construction in March 2004 to give full attention to resolving the environmental problem posed by the massive pyritic rock piles. As of late 2006, the remediation plan had not been finalized. Original plans to truck the contaminated spoils to strip mine pits were blocked by local opposition at the disposal sites, and the plans were abandoned. Current plans call for moving the piles to another point along the I-99 right-of-way.

[edit] Future

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

Bill S.719 of 2005, sponsored by Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, would have extended Corridor O south to Corridor H in West Virginia.^[12]

As defined in Federal law, I-99 is to continue north to Corning, New York. Signs have been placed along the present U.S. Route 220 and U.S. Route 15, much of which are built to Interstate Highway standards, marking the route as the "Future I-99 Corridor".

[edit] Maryland

The full route of I-99 is part of Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System, which runs along US 220 from Interstate 68 near Cumberland, Maryland north onto I-99 near Bedford, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Pennsylvania

Interstate 99 is planned to start from the Maryland border to be a continuation to the existing routing which starts in Bedford, Pennsylvania.

From Bald Eagle, Pennsylvania to State College, Pennsylvania, construction has been held up by lawsuits stemming from environmental contamination when crews unearthed large amounts of acidic rock. The lawsuits have since been settled and a remediation plan is in place that calls for moving much of the acidic rock to a containment site about 3 miles (5 km) south of the present disposal site.

In State College, Pennsylvania, Interstate 99 is already built and open, but not signed. The routing takes the western half of the Nittany Expressway (U.S. Route 322) and goes northward from Penn State's Research Park. It should be noted that U.S. Route 220 was rerouted here as well, as the old routing used to go directly to Milesburg, Pennsylvania. From Benner Pike in State College, Pennsylvania, Interstate 99 continues along an old "super 2" highway routing of Pennsylvania Route 26 going towards Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The current plans are to have Interstate 99 end at Interstate 80.

From Bellefonte, Pennsylvania to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, plans are to have this road continue along U.S. Route 220.

From Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Corning, New York, plans are to have this road continue along U.S. Route 15 to the northern terminus.

[edit] New York

In the state of New York, this road is slated to continue north from Pennsylvania along U.S. Route 15 to Interstate 86/NY 17 near Corning, where the freeway would then provide a link to Rochester via I-390.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile[13]	#	Destinations	Notes
Bedford	Bedford Township	0.00	1	I-70 / I-76 / PA Turnpike – Pittsburgh, Harrisburg	I-99 continues south as US 220
		2.93	3	US 220 Bus. south / PA 56 – Johnstown, Cessna
	East St. Clair Township	6.65	7	PA 869 – St. Clairsville, Osterburg
	King Township	10.13	10	Blue Knob State Park
Blair	Greenfield Township	14.92	15	US 220 Bus. north – Claysburg, King
	Freedom Township	22.88	23	PA 36 / PA 164 to US 22 east – Roaring Spring, Portage, Hollidaysburg
	Allegheny Township	28.12	28	To US 22 – Ebensburg, Hollidaysburg	To PA 764
	Logan Township	30.60	31	US 220 Bus. (Plank Road)
		31.88	32	To PA 36 (Frankstown Road)
		33.24	33	17th Street
	Antis Township	38.62	39	PA 764 south – Pinecroft
		41.30	41	PA 865 north – Bellwood
		45.41	45	Grazierville
	Tyrone	47.89	48	PA 453 north – Tyrone
	Snyder Township	51.84	52	PA 350 – Bald Eagle
Centre	Worth Township		61	US 322 west – Philipsburg, Port Matilda	Current northern terminus of I-99 southbound
	Huston Township			US 220 north / US 322 east – State College	Temporary exit; current northern terminus of I-99 northbound

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• News on the I-99 acid-rock cleanup from CentreDaily.com
• I-99 / S.R. 6220 Relocation Project (Bald Eagle to State College)
• Pennsylvania Highways: Interstate 99

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
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35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68	69
70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Primary			Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
		Auxiliary			Main - Future - Unsigned
		Other			Standards - Business - Bypassed

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