The latest section of Interstate 99, under development in Blair and Centre counties for almost as long as this region's Mon-Fayette Expressway, is finally open north to State College.
Most of the 18 miles, anyhow.
One northbound lane is still closed in the Skytop area as work continues. Five miles of the southbound side won't be finished until later this year.
The planned opening was delayed four days, until Dec. 17, because of a winter storm -- one reason many people thought the limited-access highway should have been built on the valley floor/Route 220 corridor, rather than carved into slopes of the scenic, tree-covered Bald Eagle Mountain.
Because Penn State's home football season and classes had already ended for the year, "Getting Around" believes tens of thousands of southwestern Pennsylvania residents who often make the drive to State College may not have gotten word about I-99.
PennDOT issued only a four-paragraph news release about the budget-busting $400 million project, maybe because of the considerable controversy, maybe out of embarrassment for taking so much time and maybe because it is being forced to spend an extra $80 million to clean up an acidic rock called pyrite discovered during construction.
Even the Post-Gazette is somewhat guilty. We published a four-paragraph news article about the opening, although the highway and pyrite/stream pollution issues have gotten plenty of ink in the past.
I-99 is largely the baby of former U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Bedford, who steered hundreds of millions of dollars in extra highway money toward the project while he was the influential chairman -- some would say King of Pork -- of the House Transportation Committee.
Because PennDOT didn't have the money, he had the Route 220 corridor between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-80 designated as an interstate highway, thereby qualifying it for 90 percent federal funding.
Because I-79 west of Pittsburgh and I-81 in the Harrisburg area already existed, he had the Federal Highway Administration skew the logic behind the interstate sequential numbering system and create I-99 in the middle.
Anyhow, students, visitors and football fans headed to Mount Nittany in the future should be able to get there about 20 minutes faster, the money, the environment and Port Matilda be damned.
I confess. I'll be one of 'em.
Tracy Camerota, of Avalon, has been unable to get a response from the Port Authority about why the Jan. 1 increase in the Zone 1 cash fare was 25 cents, bringing it to $2, while the increase in the Zone 1 monthly pass was $15, to $75.
So she e-mailed us.
For a commuter who rides 20 days a month, the $15 amounts to an extra 37.5 cents a ride for round trips.
"This seems unfair," she said. "With a 25-cent increase, why is the monthly pass so high? I feel like we're being punished for buying a pass."
She's correct. The base fare went up by 14 percent while the monthly pass went up by 25 percent. The authority was trying to achieve equity in the fare structure while keeping increases as low as possible. At the same time, it had a need to maximize revenue.
A monthly pass is still a bargain.
Paying cash fares for 20 round-trip commutes a month would cost $80, so $75 represents a $5-a-month savings, plus the convenience of not having to fumble for correct change or buy transfers. The more you ride, the more you save.
If Ms. Camerota buys an annual pass, she'll get the 12th month free. And if she works for an employer enrolled in the authority's Job Perks program, the cost of the annual pass is exempt from federal income tax.
Paul Eibeck, of Brookline, wants to know why nobody does anything about the old, abandoned houses and other dilapidated buildings along the stretch of East Ohio Street/Route 28 north to Millvale, another project on PennDOT's drawing board for decades.
"Some look like a good gust of wind away from being blown onto the road," he e-mailed. "One has trees growing out of what's left of the roof. It's hard to believe the city hasn't complained about the dangerous potential of one of these collapsing or being a huge fire hazard."
Not to mention that stretch of Route 28 is the Allegheny Valley Expressway gateway to Pittsburgh and its many cultural and sports attractions.
Now that Mr. Eibeck has raised the issue, maybe PennDOT can do quick de facto acquisitions of properties it doesn't yet own and "redd up" the corridor before summer.
What a nice gesture for Pittsburgh's 250th birthday.
First Published: January 20, 2008, 5:00 a.m.
