Turnpike to close to westbound traffic from Breezewood to New Stanton overnight Saturday
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An 86-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s westbound lanes from Breezewood to New Stanton will be closed beginning 11 p.m. Saturday to about 6 a.m. Sunday for road construction work, the turnpike commission said.
The seven-hour closure is needed for crews to safely implement an interim traffic crossover as part of the next phase of a reconstruction project between mile markers 102 and 109 in Somerset County, the commission said. Motorists will be permitted to travel eastbound in the corridor during the westbound closure.
The turnpike commission’s suggested detour from Breezewood to New Stanton will take motorists along Route 30 for 18 miles to Interstate 99 for 30 miles to Route 22 at Altoona, then 64 miles to Toll Route 66 near Delmont, then south to New Stanton, where vehicles can re-enter the turnpike.
The more than 100-mile detour is necessary to safely accommodate the volume of diverted traffic.
The $117 highway widening million project will expand the turnpike from two lanes to three lanes in each direction in the corridor. The project began in 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2024.