In the mid-2000s, interest in the bypass has been revived as part of a plan for a continuous highway from the Harrisburg area, north to Williamsport.

Part of this may be due to the late 2000s emergence of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale in the northern tier of the state.

Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is reported to have promised $51 million for the project, but his term in office expired before any of the money was allocated.

On April 3, 2013, PennDOT announced that the state would commit to allocate $558 million for the project over the following 10 years, pending approval by the General Assembly.

[8] A $2.3 billion budget was later passed by the General Assembly and signed by then-Governor Tom Corbett, granting over $500 million for the Thruway, as well as funding other major transportation projects in the state.

[9][10] In December, 2022, the project received $63 million in federal aid from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Senator Bob Casey Jr., U.S. Representative Fred Keller, and state and local politicians and officials in attendance.

South of this interchange, the freeway will continue carrying U.S. 15 around the western side of Shamokin Dam and Hummels Wharf.

The bypass will then meet back up with the existing U.S. 11/15 alignment at the partially completed interchange with U.S. 522, where those highways currently leaves the expressway.