- Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and Transportation Study is seeking public comment for a new transportation plan outlining projects to 2050
- Projects include road improvements, pedestrian access and highway expansions
- The plan allocates more than $4.39 billion in funds the region is anticipated to receive
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — By Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley's estimation, projects listed in the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study aren't just a wish list — they're needed.
In a presentation to members of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce transportation committee on Thursday, Bradley noted the importance of comprehensive planning, given the growth the Lehigh Valley has had and continues to have.
"Our population growth is going to be about 14.4%. I think the important takeaway here is that's equivalent to adding another city of Bethlehem and another city of Easton by 2050. So where are all those folks gonna go? We have to think about that, and how are they going to get around as well."Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley
"Our population growth is going to be about 14.4%," Bradley told the group. "I think the important takeaway here is that's equivalent to adding another city of Bethlehem and another city of Easton by 2050.
"So where are all those folks gonna go? We have to think about that, and how are they going to get around as well."
Lehigh Valley Transportation Study is taking public feedback on the updated plan until Oct. 6.
The published draft gives a look into more than $4.39 billion in projects planned by the state Transportation Department and Lehigh Valley municipalities for the coming decades.
The plan is more ambitious than the wide-spanning FutureLV Regional Plan originally set out, with the group stating that funding is anticipated to have a 70% increase over the money originally projected for the Lehigh Valley during the last update in 2019 as the transportation portion of FutureLV.
The group said the increase can be attributed to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's passage in 2021 and the Lehigh Valley's status as one of Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing regions.
Project priorities
In the plan, regional funding is supplemented by nearly $1 billion in state and federal grant funding specifically targeted at the interstate system, bringing the total money projected to flow into the Lehigh Valley to $5,363,463,276 by 2050.
Still, despite more than $5 billion in anticipated funding, the plan lists at least $2.27 billion worth of "unmet needs" that exist in the region.
Anticipated improvements include highway work on major corridors such as Routes 22, 309, 33 and 100; bridge improvements; and smaller "community projects" such as trail projects, streetscape renewals and traffic safety enhancements.
During her presentation, Bradley elaborated on priorities, and how meeting with municipalities and taking survey responses from the public set them.
Public priorities presented included traffic flow, road pavement, bridges and walking. Safety was listed as a top priority for road work.
The presentation also noted the need to address equitable access to reliable transportation, which goes along with goals to provide greater equity related to housing, education and employment opportunities.
The Long-Range Transportation Plan will be up for approval by Lehigh Valley Transportation Study on Oct.18 before it heads to the Federal Highway Administration for review.
Lehigh Valley Transportation Study consists of LVPC staff cooperating with PennDOT and LANTA.
If approved, the plan would take effect in 2024.
Public comment can be left in a form on their website and at upcoming public meetings.
A wide swath of projects envisioned
The planning commission provided a sprawling list of proposed projects in both the short (2024-28), mid (2029-36) and long (2037-2050) range of time that the region can "reasonably expect to achieve."
The lead for individual projects varies from local municipalities, to Northampton and Lehigh counties, the state transportation commission and PennDOT.
A map has been provided by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, outlining the projects proposed in the planning document, which spans dozens of pages.
The map of proposed projects can be viewed here:
Some significant short-range projects, anticipated to start before 2028 and funded in the region's Transportation Improvement Program, include:
- City of Bethlehem (PennDOT) — Hill-to-Hill Bridge Rehabilitation, $69.8 million
- City of Allentown (PennDOT) — State Route 145 safety improvements including ADA compliance, protected left turn bays at signals, two-way left signals throughout, and other improvements
- City of Allentown (PennDOT) — Jordan Creek Bridge replacement, $10 million
- Whitehall Township (PennDOT) — Construct new Fifth Street Bridge, $8 million
- South Whitehall Township (PennDOT) — State Route 309 & Tilghman Interchange reconstruction, reconfiguring bridge replacements, coordinated signal system
- South Whitehall Township (PennDOT) — State Route 309 resurfacing, guiderail upgrades, patching and movement markings, $12 million
- Lower Nazareth Township (PennDOT) — State Route 191 Lower Nazareth Intersection signal improvements and congestion mitigation, $3.7 million
- Bath Borough (PennDOT) — State Route 248 realignment to eliminate zigzag turns throughout the borough and reduce traffic impact, $4.6 million
- Bethlehem Township (PennDOT) — US Route 22 & State Route 191 Interchange improvements, $38.7 million
- Whitehall Township (PennDOT) — US Route 22 & Fullerton interchange improvements, $18.8 million
- Various (Lehigh Valley Transportation Study) — Multiple separate line items of $3 million in funds reserved for corridor signal improvement, safety, transportation alternatives/multimodal facilities, consultant assistance and urban rehabilitation.
- Various (Lehigh Valley Transportation Study) — Funds reserved for various highway and bridge rehabilitation projects through the region, $263.5 million
Many bridge rehabilitation or replacement, and pavement resurfacing and rehabilitation, and signaling improvement projects are listed throughout the region in the "short term" range, along with mid and long-range plans.
Down the line
Also, $50 million is set aside for both Northampton and Lehigh counties throughout the entirety of the plan for funding traffic congestion mitigation and air quality improvement projects.
Rapid transit and rider infrastructure safety improvements for bus routes is set to get $38 million throughout the plan's duration.
Multimodal and alternative transportation got some focus as well, listing many improvements throughout the region for pedestrian and bicycle access improvements.
More than $18 million is set aside throughout the duration of the 25-year plan for various studies on potential future improvements.
About $4.8 million is earmarked for improving safe routes to schools throughout the region.
And $1.23 billion is set aside for Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority transit operating assistance and improvement over the 25-year period, including plans to expand the bus fleet.
In the mid- and long-range projections, notable projects include:
- City of Bethlehem, Upper Saucon Township (PennDOT) — State Route 378 Betterment Project from Colesville Road to Brighton Street, $17.8 million
- City of Bethlehem, Hellertown Borough (PennDOT Betterment Project) — Acquire and construct a trail along .9 miles of the Norfolk Southern rail line, $7.2 million
- City of Bethlehem (PennDOT Betterment Project) — Create the West Bethlehem Rail Trail to act as a trail connection between the cities of Allentown and Bethlehem on 2.6 miles of unused Norfolk Southern rail lines
- City of Allentown (PennDOT) — Tilghman Street traffic infrastructure and timing upgrades for approx. 22 intersections, $11 million
- City of Easton (Municipal project) — Roadway traffic calming improvements including bump outs, curb realignment, potential lane reductions along Saint John Street, $17.2 million
- City of Easton (PennDOT betterment project) — Traffic calming and pedestrian accommodation improvements along Northampton Street from Seventh Street to Fifteenth Street, and along ThirteenthtStreet from Butler Street to Jackson Street, $16.4 million
- Upper Macungie Township (Municipal project) — Tilghman Street improvements including widening from State Route 100 to Ruppsville Road, signal upgrades, pavement marking improvements, multimodal accommodations including sidewalks, $20 million
- Upper Macungie Township (Municipal project) — Intersection improvements on State Route 222/Jaindl Highway, Grim Road and Cetronia Road to replace turn lanes with "jug handle" ramps, multimodal infrastructure including sidewalks, $26.5 million
- Upper Macungie Township (Municipal project) — Hamilton Blvd., Breinigsville Road/Newtown Road roundabount construction, $10.2 million
- Lower Macungie Township (PennDOT Betterment Project) — Hamilton Boulevard Corridor traffic calming, landscaped medians, street trees, shared use paths, shared lane markings, improved lightings from Lower Macungie Road to Dorney Park, $3.2 million
- Upper Saucon Township (PennDOT Betterment Project) — State Route 309 pedestrian bridge construction to access recreation on both sides of the highway, $4 million
- Bath Borough (LVTS) — Turning lanes and signalization at State Route 512 and Mill Street intersection, $18.8 million
- Various (PennDOT) — Installing variable speed limit technologies on State Route 22 and Interstate 78 for use during congestion or inclement weather, $5 million
- Various (LVTS) — Airport Road Corridor Phase 1 Infrastructure Implementation, $49.9 million. The plan also notes $9,446,990 in unmet needs for funding phase 2 of infrastructure upgrade plans.
- Hanover, South Whitehall, and Whitehall townships (PennDOT) — U.S. Route 22 widening from Lehigh River to Airport Road to six total lanes, $34.2 million. Additional widening on Mauch Chunk Road and Route 145 diverging diamond interchange is listed for $138 million
- Various (LVTS) — 22 Tomorrow Phase 1 Implementation line item for the updated 22 Tomorrow Route 22 improvement plan, $595 million. This plan also notes an unmet need of $1.1 billion for Phase 2 implementation.
Unmet needs also get highlight
Referencing the more than $5 billion in allocated funds, Bradley said, "It seems like a lot, but it's shockingly not."
She said keeping track of some of those unmet needs, something the planning commission started doing in the previous transportation plan, can prepare them for future shake-ups in available funds.
"What we started to do was say, 'Hey, these other projects could potentially be eligible for state funds come out of the state's pool of funds, could potentially receive federal funds, maybe other grants,'" Bradley said.
Unmet needs listed include roadway improvement projects along many well-traveled routes, including many safety improvements and desired repaving projects, among others.
These unmet needs expend past the plan's 2050 end, and include projects such as:
- Lower Macungie and Upper Macungie Townships (PennDOT Betterment Project) — State Route 22 / Hamilton Boulevard Betterment Project from State Route 222 to Kressler Road, $24 million
- Upper Macungie Township (Municipal project) — Hamilton Boulevard and Lower Macungie Road expansion, $204.7 million
- Upper Macungie Township (Municipal Project) — Hamilton Boulevard and Lower Macungie Road roundabout construction $204.7 million
- Wind Gap, Pen Argyl and Bangor Boroughs, Plainfield and Washington Townships (PennDOT Betterment Project) — Main Street / State Route 512 Betterment Project from Main Street to State Route 611, $15.6 million.
