New tasks have been added to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's to-do list along Interstate 90 and Interstate 79 in Erie County this fall.

Ramp gates will be installed at interchanges along both highways.

And both roads will be patched in places.

Demolition of the Beckman Road bridge over I-90, already scheduled for this year, will begin after Labor Day.

The ramp gates

Ramp gates are new to Pennsylvania highways. Installation was piloted last year at interchanges in the Lehigh Valley and at the Route 18 interchange of Interstate 90 in Girard Township.

Gates installed at interstate on-ramps can be lowered and locked to block entrance to highways that are closed because of weather or accidents.

The idea, said state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, is to prevent driv

See Full Page