Transportation program unveils list of projects

Plans cover more than 120 initiatives in Lehigh Valley

Sure, it seems that highway construction is a constant irritant for motorists in the Lehigh Valley. But there is a strategy to it as the region’s transportation system tries to keep up with a growing population and the vehicles that come with it.

At the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s recent Outlook event, the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study — the organization that promotes transportation projects for Lehigh and Northampton counties — revealed a list of some of its major investments for 2023-26.

“We’ve evolved our regional transportation investment strategy to align with what we need today and for the future of our infrastructure system,” LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said.

She noted that commuters share the road not just with cars, trucks and buses, but also bicycles.

“We’re working hard to create a road network that is welcoming to all modes, and gets people anywhere they want to go, whether they own a car or not.”

That foundation is the four-year Transportation Improvement Program that went into effect Oct. 1. The $485 million program includes about $80 million from the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed by

President Joe Biden in 2021.

“While the $80 million the [infrastructure law] will pump into the Lehigh Valley over the next four years is significant, it barely begins to chip away at a long list of projects we simply don’t have the money to fund, but we know the federal infrastructure law in the coming months and years will present us with new opportunities to fund everything from roads to alternative fuels to broadband connectivity,” Bradley said.

Of the funding, $162 million will be used for bridge projects; $161 million will be used for road projects; $10 million will be used for multiuse trails and bicycle facilities; and $133 million will be used for mass transit.

The 2023-26 TIP covers more than 120 projects in the Valley, including:

■ Rehabilitation of the Hill to Hill Bridge, Bethlehem.

■ Replacement of two bridges on Route 33 in Stockertown.

■ Improvement of the interchange between Route 309 and Tilghman Street, South Whitehall Township.

■ Replacement of the Cementon Bridge between Whitehall Township and Northampton.

■ Realignment of Route 248 through Bath to eliminate some truck turns.

■ Reconstruction of the Route 309 interchange in Center Valley.

■ Improvements to the interchange with Route 22 and Route 191 in Bethlehem Township. Resurface sections of Route 22.

■ Expansion of MacArthur Road over Jordan Creek in Whitehall Township.

■ Expansion of the intersection between Lehigh and Race streets in Catasauqua.

For mass transit, LANTA will receive $3.3 million for its bus rapid transit system and more than $14.8 million for clean-fueled buses.

The Two Rivers Trail will also be built between Bushkill and Plainfield townships.

Keeping track

The LVTS, which lays more than 100 shortterm traffic counters around the Valley each year, said that more than 106,000 vehicles travel Route 22 across the Lehigh River bridge daily.

By contrast, Interstate 78 carries about 71,000 vehicles per day across the Lehigh Valley.

“Our counters also show us that Route 22 is the Lehigh Valley’s main street,” Bradley said, “connecting people from Fogelsville to Easton.”

This can be seen, Bradley said, because while 13% of traffic on Route 22 is trucks, that number increases to 30% for I-78, which was built in 1989 to bypass the region.

“But, as additional industrial, commercial and residential development is built north of Route 22, we expect this to change,” she said. “And that change is likely to be noticeable over the next two years.”