ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Speaking outside of a recently-renovated section of Interstate 78 in Berks County, PennDOT District 5 Executive Chris Kufro gave highlights Tuesday of further investments to come.
Aside from a large reconstruction and widening project from exit 35 to the Lehigh County line on I-78, Kufro and PennDOT officials noted the completion of many projects throughout the Lehigh Valley area this year.
These included a $14.2 million roundabout installation at the intersection of U.S. 222, Route 863, and Schantz Road in Upper Macungie Township, $2.8 million for paving and milling on Route 191 in Bangor Borough and Plainfield and Washington Townships, and $6.5 million in milling and paving for Route 145/MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.
"A good portion of this investment is focused on the interstate system," Kufro said. "We have over $350 million on I-78 in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton County."
In a release, PennDOT District 5 officials say they replaced 362 bridges, paved 64 miles of roadways, and seal-coated another 345 miles of roadways this year.
It was not just patting themselves on the back, however. Kufro took note of continuing and new projects slated for 2024.
Projects that went out for bid or only began construction in Lehigh County and Northampton County in 2023 include:
- $21.7 million for the replacement of the Route 329 "Cementon" bridge over the Lehigh River between Whitehall Township and Northampton Borough. $10.2 million for intersection and roadway improvements on Race Street in Catasauqua Borough
- $21.7 million for replacing the Route 33 north and south bridges over Bushkill Creek in Stockertown Borough and Palmer Township
- $5.8 million for traffic signal improvements on Route 145/MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township
- $4.8 million for Route 145 milling and paving in North Whitehall Township
- $3.3 million for traffic signal improvements on Route 29 in Salisbury Township
- $13 million for the milling, patching, and resurfacing of I-78 in Upper Saucon Township, Lower Saucon Township, and the City of Bethlehem
- $2.3 million Milling and paving on Route 191 in Nazareth Borough and Lower Nazareth Township
- $5.9 million for milling, paving, and traffic signal updates to Linden Street in the City of Bethlehem and Bethlehem Township
- $2.3 million for the milling and paving of Route 191 in Nazareth Borough and Lower Nazareth Township
Noted continuing projects were:
- $23.3 million to paving, milling, patching, and bridge preservation to I-78 in Berks, Northampton and Lehigh counties.
- $13.4 million in further I-78 paving, patching, milling, safety barrier, and drainage improvements in Lehigh County
- $4.2 million in milling and paving of Route 873 in Slatington Borough, North Whitehall and Washington Townships
- $9.5 million in milling and paving of Route 33 in Monroe and Northampton County
- $16 million in milling and paving U.S. Route 22 and Route 33 in Wilson Borough, Bethlehem and Palmer Townships
Kufro also noted that construction work was set to begin on the Route 22 Tilghman Street Interchange with Route 309 in Allentown next year.
A new study for Route 22 was also designated funds earlier this year, which is the first step to planned future improvements, which were previously put on hold due to a lack of sufficient funding. Kufro said the Fullerton Avenue Interchange is the first designated portion for improvement in the Lehigh Valley.
"It's going to look at the whole corridor and really just analyze, update all the traffic information and really try to come up with the priorities of what how to break the projects up and what the best approach would be moving forward," Kufro said. "And then we can try to see what kind of funding we will need to with those priorities."
Kufro also said PennDOT and legislators would over the next few years have to start reevaluating funding mechanisms for revenue generation, given anticipated fuel source shifts and changing expenses.
"With inflation and all the hybrid and fully electric vehicles coming on board, it does eat away at the gas tax revenues," Kufro said. "So we continue to need to look forward for alternative funding sources to meet the future needs of our residents and the quality and provide a quality transportation network.
"It's just something on a larger, broader scale that PennDOT and with legislators need to meet to just be aware of because most of our funding for all of our projects comes from gas tax revenue, state and federal."
The recently adopted Long-Range Transportation Plan for the Lehigh Valley contained many PennDOT projects anticipated over the next 25 years. It also marked many desired projects that could not be completed in current funding projections, which were then marked as unmet needs.
"Sometimes projects either got to be deferred or sometimes just don't make the list, unfortunately," Ron Young, PennDOT District 5's press officer, said. "Until the funding meets the needs, it's always going to be that way."
Young said regarding planned projects that detours and traffic stoppages will rarely occur outside of major bridge and highway work, and if they occur they typically happen during nighttime.
He reminded the public that they can look at projects.penndot.gov for a list of all of PennDOT's planned and active construction projects.
