100-mile detour in place when 86-mile stretch of Pennsylvania Turnpike closes overnight Saturday

An 86-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed westbound starting at 11 p.m. on Saturday between the Breezewood (Exit 161) and New Stanton (Exit 75) interchanges. The road will reopen at approximately 6 a.m. on Sunday.

Motorists should plan for a lengthy detour or should avoid that area of Interstate 70/76 during that time, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission advises.

The seven-hour closure is needed for road work to implement an interim traffic crossover as part of the next phase of a reconstruction project in Somerset County. The $117 million project for reconstruction and widening from two lanes to three lanes in each direction began in 2021 and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.

The more than 100-mile detour is necessary to accommodate the volume of diverted traffic, according to the PA Turnpike Commission. Travelers should expect higher than normal traffic volumes on the detour route. Message boards will be placed to inform drivers of the closure.

Vehicles will be able to enter the Turnpike at the Donegal Interchange (Exit 91) and travel westbound during this closure. All eastbound traffic is permitted in the corridor during the westbound closure.

Information will be posted and announcements will be made prior to the closure at the North Midway Service Plaza in Bedford County and the Somerset North Service Plaza in Somerset County warning customers of the impending closure. If customers remain in the service plaza after 11 p.m. on Saturday, they will be required to stay there until the road reopens.

Visit 511/511pa.com for more information.

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