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Shapiro Administration Enhances 511PA Website and Mobile App for Penn State Football Travel Planning

09/06/2024

Harrisburg, PA The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) encourages motorists traveling to Penn State home football games this season to plan their trip using the enhanced real-time travel information available on a specialized web page on PennDOT's traveler information website, 511PA.com. The page continues Governor's Shapiro's commitment to providing digital services that are responsive, user-friendly, and accessible to every Pennsylvanian. 

Beginning with this Saturday's game against Bowling Green, 511PA will include travel information for every Penn State home football game. Throughout the season, travel information will be available beginning the Thursday before each home game through the Monday after. 

The Penn State football page is dedicated to monitoring traffic conditions on the primary travel routes to the event. Travel times and alerts are provided for each parking zone: West Zone (access via Atherton Street to Park Avenue); East Zone (access via U.S. 322/I-99 to Park Avenue); North Zone (access via Fox Hollow Road); and South Zone (access via University Drive and Porter Road from College Avenue/U.S. 26). 

“Our goal is to help motorists plan ahead by providing them with as much information as possible," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “By providing this real-time information, motorists can more easily plan the route that works best for them."

​The page includes the average travel time for the primary route as well as one or two alternate routes. Users can see incidents, construction, weather forecasts and alerts, traffic cameras, and traffic speeds on the map. The page also includes the 2024 Beaver Stadium Parking Map.

PennDOT's Central Region Traffic Management Center is also supporting Penn State Football game days by posting real-time travel information on dynamic message signs and transmitting audio messages on highway advisory radio systems to assist travelers. 

In addition to the information available on 511PA.com, these projects have the potential to impact traffic during the home football schedule: 

Centre County 

  • On Atherton Street, work is ongoing between College Avenue and White Course Drive. The eastbound lanes heading toward Boalsburg are open while the right westbound lanes heading toward North Atherton Street are closed. Starting in mid-September there will only be one lane open in each direction while the contractor works in the center lane. PennDOT expects this work to take approximately two weeks. The games scheduled during that period are the Sept. 21 matchup against Kent State and the Sept. 28 Big 10 Conference matchup against Illinois. The contractor will not work the day before or the day of home games. For the Sept. 7 game against Bowling Green, there will be two open lanes in each direction, but only one open lane in each direction for the Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 games.
  • Work on a high-speed interchange between Interstates 80 and 99 is set to kick off Wednesday, September. 4. Traffic on I-80 will be reduced to one lane eastbound and westbound between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM for approximately two months while the contractor completes shoulder reconstruction and widening. However, there is a contractual stipulation that the contractor may not implement any lane restrictions on either Interstate six hours before or after football games, leaving two lanes open for gameday traffic.
  • A bridge replacement project along I-80 between mile markers 165 and 166 is ongoing. The right (travel) lane is closed on the eastbound and westbound sides. This traffic pattern will be in place for the rest of this construction season. Work on the project is expected to carry through the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons. 

Clearfield County 

  • An I-80 preservation project impacting eastbound and westbound traffic between mile markers 97 and 120 is ongoing, however the contractor is obligated under the terms of their agreement to be off the roadway the Friday before home football games and may not resume operations until the following Sunday. 

Juniata County 

  • Work on a bridge preservation project has traffic reduced to one lane for a mile and a half between Port Royal and Mifflintown continues. PennDOT expects to reopen both lanes in early October before Penn State plays the bulk of its home Big 10 Conference schedule. 

Mifflin County 

  • A concrete preservation project along Route 22 in Mifflin County is expected to start on Monday, Oct. 7. Work on this project is expected to wrap before Penn State resumes its home schedule against Ohio State on Nov. 2. In the event the project is delayed, the contractor will not work on Friday, Nov. 1, or Saturday, Nov. 2, to mitigate impacts for those attending the game. 

Motorists are encouraged to “Know Before They Go" by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts

Follow PennDOT on X and like the department on Facebook and Instagram.

CONTACTS: 

Jennifer Kuntch, jkuntch@pa.gov or 717-705-1551

Timothy Nebgen, tnebgen@pa.gov or 814-765-0598

Steve Harmic, sharmic@pa.gov or 814-496-6189 

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