Interstate 99 is a relatively short north-south highway in central Pennsylvania, with plans to expand northward into New York.  The current routing of Interstate 99 is a freeway upgrade to US Route 220, which is duplexed with the entire Interstate.  The southern end of Interstate 99 is at the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which carries Interstate 70 and Interstate 76, at Bedford, Pennsylvania.  Interstate 99 and US Route 220 share the pavement proceeding northward from there, through Altoona and State College.  The northern end of Interstate 99 in Pennsylvania occurs at Interstate 80, near Bellefonte.  I specify "Interstate 99 in Pennsylvania," because New York prematurely signed a short fragment of Interstate 99 along US Route 15 near the Pennsylvania border.  A mere thirteen miles of US Route 15, from Corning, New York, south to the state line, is currently signed at Interstate 99, even though that part of the route doesn't lead anywhere yet.  The northern end of this other piece of Interstate 99 is at Interstate 86. Eventually, the plan for Interstate 99 is to bridge the gap between these two segments via the US Route 15 and US Route 220 corridors; Interstate 99 will switch from the US Route 15 corridor to the US Route 220 corridor at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  The northern extent may even replace Interstate 390 north to Rochester, New York.  Interstate 99, as the highest odd two-digit number, is a designation that belongs on a north-south Interstate on the easternmost edge of the United States.  This is not the case, but odd numbers at the higher end of the range of two-digit numbers are scant.  Interstate 81 lies to the east, and Interstate 79 lies to the west; as there is no odd number between 79 and 81, there really was no viable choice for an Interstate number that followed the longstanding numbering convention. Therefore, Interstate 99 was christened as such.

My photo of Interstate 99 signage comes from the eastern outskirts of Altoona, Pennsylvania, along Frankstown Road.  The signage depicted appears to those travelers leaving US Route 22 toward the northwest on Frankstown Road. It reassures them that the road they're now using will be a suitable way to reach Interstate 99 and US Route 220.  US Route 220 is co-signed along all of Interstate 99 within Pennsylvania. This photo was taken in April 2024 during my drive across Pennsylvania, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the Carolinas.

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