On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation hosted a celebratory ribbon-cutting along State Route 322 east of State College. After six years, the Potters Mills Gap Project to widen the road there from two to four lanes is finished.
Drivers won’t have to worry anymore about construction slow-downs and stoppages on Route 322 through Potters Mills. The road project meant to alleviate congestion and improve safety finished in mid-October.
PennDOT District 2 Executive Thomas Zurat celebrated the reopening at the ribbon cutting.
"We’re thrilled to celebrate the opening of this challenging, long awaited, long needed and impressive project," Zurat said.
Dan Hawbaker, president of the Glenn O. Hawbaker construction company, was the contractor for the second and third phases of the project.
Hawbaker said he hopes his company’s work will lead to fewer accidents on Route 322.
“I think the primary thing we have attained here today is highway safety,” Hawbaker said.
Pennsylvania State Senator Jake Corman said his motivation for widening the road was not Penn State football traffic but students in the Penns Valley School District who use Route 322 to get to school.
Either way, Corman wants to put the finishing touches on the project as soon as possible. Next year, they’ll add a local access road.
“We will eventually be able to finish this project [and] more than anything else, provide a safe passage through our region,” Corman said.
In total, the project cost $96 million.
