Students leaving campus in the coming days for Thanksgiving break should have a much easier time with traffic, as part of what will become Interstate 99 opens to the public today.

Clifford Lutz, Penn State Police Services Supervisor, said the new road will provide motorists with a clear path from Park Avenue to Interstate 80.

"We're hoping it is really going to expedite things for people leaving to the north and to the east," Lutz said.

He also said the opening would alleviate gridlock on College Avenue. The road should see a reduction in its congestion problem, as both day to day and special-event traffic, such as student breaks, are expected to become less problematic.

Along with easing problems on College Avenue, the opening of the new road should also improve the traffic situation on Route 26 and other local roads, Marla Fannin, spokeswoman for District 2 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said.

She also praised contractors and workers for accomplishing the task quickly.

"We wanted to be able to give people the ability to use this road before Thanksgiving, and we were able to do that," she said.

The road will open as U.S. Route 220, not I-99. Fannin said federal law prohibits posting signs calling it I-99 until all sections of the interstate are completed. The entire project is slated to be finished by 2007.

She also said speed limits will be posted at 55 miles per hour on the eight miles of U.S. Route 220.

Valerie Casciato (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she hopes this will help with traffic problems she has experienced in the area.

She said on her way back from fall break this semester, she was stuck in stop-and-go traffic for more than an hour just trying to get into State College.

"I think that it will make it easier for people to get here and help there be less accidents," she said.