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Split on I-80 Means Four Lanes Remain Open

VALLEY TOWNSHIP — There are roadwork signs all over Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, but that’s no surprise for people around here. Pennsylvan...

VALLEY TOWNSHIP -- There are roadwork signs all over Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, but that's no surprise for people around here. Pennsylvania residents know that springtime also means roadwork time.

"Well, it happens every year," Harry Bashnick said.

"It can cause delays," Mike Brown said.

One project that's been going on for about two years now is the reconstruction of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 on a five-mile stretch near the Danville exit. But drivers noticed a change when they drove through this time. One of the eastbound lanes split over to the westbound side.

Liliana Anguiano and her friend took a road trip down the east coast and were happy they didn't hit traffic through the construction.

"It was actually really nice that they split it off because there wasn't a lot of backed up traffic," Anguiano said. "We thought we'd be stuck one hour, two hours delayed."

Typically when PennDOT does a project like this, they close down one or two lanes. But this time to alleviate traffic, they're trying something different by keeping all four lanes open.

"It was very convenient, no issues at all. It was nice to see instead of having the lane closures," Brown said.

Newswatch 16 drove through the split and we did not have any delays. PennDOT hopes this is the case for everyone.

"It's a good idea, especially on (Interstate) 80. It gets a lot of traffic and it doesn't take much to back you up for a long ways," Bashnick said.

PennDOT officials say lane splits like this have been done in other parts of the state, but this is the first time it's been done on this part of Interstate 80. The split is expected to stay in place through October, and the project is set to wrap up next August.

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