Published: June 27, 2008 01:48 pm      

NEW – State says I-99 to be finished near State College by 2009

PORT MATILDA, Pa. — State road builders say Interstate 99 will be open through Skytop Mountain by the end of the year.

A short section may be limited to one-lane traffic each way until spring, but Ben LaParne of the state Transportation Department says traffic will flow into State College by the end of 2008.

The last section to be paved will be the 850-foot stretch of roadway at the foot of the road cut through Bald Eagle Ridge at the Skytop crest.

Thats where a 300-foot-deep excavation in 2003 unearthed a massive amount of sulfur-bearing rocks that threatened water supplies. That halted construction until an $80 million cleanup could be planned, approved and begun.

The exposed pyrite is now being smoothed so that it can be covered by a permanent, heavy-duty plastic liner.

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Information from: Centre Daily Times, http://www.centredaily.com