These 5 road improvements may not be addressed for decades
On Friday, the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study released the first draft of its long-range transportation plan, the region’s to-do list of major road projects. The list included 78 projects the study hopes to address between 2030 and 2040.
But the needs of the region are overwhelming, and about 67% of proposed projects — $4.3 billion of needed improvements — didn’t make the draft. Officials with PennDOT, Lehigh and Northampton counties, LANTA, the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton still need to finalize the plan, so there’s a chance it could change before an Oct. 2 vote. In the meantime, though, here are five projects that are on the outside looking in. wanted to add another one for an estimated $8.9 million. Barring a change in heart from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, however, it may be a while before the 27,000 vehicles that come through there every day see a roundabout. of the worst grades among bridges in the Lehigh Valley, according to PennDOT records. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is imminent failure, the bridge’s substructure scored a 3.
But a new philosophy espoused by federal guidelines looks at maintaining the grid as a whole instead of fixing infrastructure in the worst condition. That likely didn’t help the odds for this $2.6 million project and other beat-up infrastructure off the main roads.
This entry could just as easily been the $5.3 million replacement of the DePues Road Bridge in Lower Mount Bethel Township, which has been closed for years. Northampton County blocked off the bridge due to the extremely low number of people who use it and its dangerous condition. On the same 1 to 10 scale, its superstructure scored a 2. When the bridge is open, the road serves as a secondary route to the nearby Martins Creek Power Plant.