“Ready, set, go.”
With those words from Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, representatives of local municipalities began making pitches for more than 50 road, bridge and trail projects that need funding support to be done.
Each person was limited to five minutes per project during the nearly three-hour-long session in LVPC’s meeting room Monday.
Bradley gave them 30-second warnings and quietly told them when their time was up — but most stayed under five minutes.
Some included photos to strengthen their arguments.
More than 50 projects were proposed.
They ranged from intersection upgrades on Route 248 in Northampton County to the same on Route 222 in Lehigh County.
Upper Macungie Township even wants to add a new interchange on Interstate 78, west of the Route 100 interchange.
The participating municipalities hope their projects will be included in the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study’s updated long-range plan, which Bradley explained “sets the transportation investment direction for the entire Lehigh Valley for the next 20 years.”
Road and bridge plans aimed at improving safety and relieving congestion.
Other projects focused on improving or adding missing links to trails, including along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.
Northampton County lumped five historical arch bridges together in one rehabilitation project and Lehigh County lumped three covered bridges together in another.
LVTS is part of LVPC, the regional planning commission for Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Its long-range transportation plan, which focuses on projects that will be designed and built within the next 20 years, is updated every four years — meaning it was last done in 2011.
Bradley explained that plan allocates at least $3.9 billion for Lehigh Valley transportation projects, with about 80 percent of the money coming from the federal government and 20 percent coming from the state.
The presentations that were made are very important, said Bradley, because “it is literally impossible to get access to state or federal dollars without being in the long-range transportation plan.”
She said the entire $3.9 billion already is allocated, but explained as projects are completed, other projects must be on the plan to replace them.
She added if there is more need for LVTS-recommended projects than money available, that information is included as “unmet need” in the plan.
She said the $3.9 billion allocation for the Lehigh Valley should increase if Congress passes a new federal transportation bill.
She noted being on the list also helps projects if other state or federal funding becomes available.
Bradley kept a running tally during Monday’s presentations and said the costs by the participating municipalities totaled $283,480,734.75.
“And that’s just today,” she added.
Allentown and Bethlehem Township are scheduled to present their proposals at a second “pitch session” scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 2 in Homewood Suites, 2031 Avenue C, Bethlehem.
At the end of Monday’s meeting, Bradley encouraged other municipalities that have not yet submitted proposals to contact the planning commission.
“We only had 11 municipalities today,” she said, adding some others already have submitted proposals.
Municipalities will find out if LVTS has included their projects when a draft of the updated plan is released in late spring, said Bradley. The plan will be finalized by the end of June.
Here, by municipality, is a list of projects submitted Monday:
BOTH COUNTIES
The first presentation was about a filling a missing link of the Delaware & Lehigh Canal Trail system, by adding a section that would run along both sides of the Lehigh River between Allentown in Lehigh County and Northampton in Northampton County.
That would complete the D&L Trail through the Lehigh Valley.
The project would close four gaps and create a 130-mile-long continuous section of the D&L Trail, said Scott Everett, trail manager of the national heritage corridor.
He added someday that trail will go from Bristol in southern Bucks County to Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County
That project has a total cost of $3.62 million. The largest single cost would be $1.5 million to convert a railroad trestle that crosses the Lehigh River at Kimmett’s Lock in Allentown into a pedestrian bridge.
BETHLEHEM
Bethlehem, which also is in both counties, is seeking approval for five projects.
The first is $250,000 to rehabilitate the Main Street ramp between Main Street and the Hill to Hill Bridge.
The “ramp” actually is a 659-foot-long concrete arch bridge over Conestoga Street and Monocacy Creek.
The city has determined that improvements will extend the life of the structure for many years, but accelerated deterioration will occur if nothing is done.
Areas already deteriorating include arches, beams, piers, parapets and abutments.
The project includes resurfacing the road.
The city also wants to reconstruct 6,500 feet of the mostly concrete and badly deteriorated Lehigh Street, between South New Street and 13th Avenue.
The road is in very poor condition. The concrete would be removed and the street repaved.
That project is estimated to cost $2 million.
The city wants to mill and overlay West Broad Street between First and 10th avenues, plus add ADA curb ramps and striping and crosswalks. That work is estimated to cost $600,000.
“Eastern Gateway” street improvements are proposed in Bethlehem on a short section of East Fourth Street, from Daly Avenue west to William Street, as well as east on Route 412 to Lynn Avenue.
That $1.4-million project would include street and sidewalk upgrades, trail and drainage improvements, street trees and street furniture.
The city wants to connect the south end of its South Bethlehem Greenway to the north end of the Saucon Rail Trail, a distance of just under one mile.
The property needed is owned by the Norfolk Southern railroad.
Closing that gap, at a cost of about $500,000, would create a trail from south Bethlehem to Coopersburg and beyond.
Also in south Bethlehem, Northampton County would like $4 million to replace the Seidersville Road Bridge over Saucon Creek.
The 135-foot-long bridge, which was constructed in 1936, is closed to all use because it is structurally deficient.
EASTON
The intersection of 13th and Wood Avenue in Easton, just south of Route 22, is in “deplorable condition” and has not been addressed since it was built in the early 1950s, said Mayor Sal Panto.
The city proposes replacing that signalized intersection with a traffic roundabout.
Engineer Earl Armitage said with more than 15,000 vehicles a day, 13th Street has the second highest volume of traffic in Easton, after Route 22.
A primary goal of the project would be to alleviate traffic back-ups coming off Route 22 at 13th.
Armitage said that intersection has a crash rate that “is six times the state average.”
The $50-million project would include improving the 13th Street corridor, which serves as a link between the city and suburbs, as far north as Lafayette Street and as far south as Northampton Street.
That project includes pedestrian enhancements and upgrading Wood Avenue, which passes over Route 22 just west of 13th. It also includes a 1.1-mile trail linking the Karl Stirner Art Trail and the Wilson Palmer Bike Path.
ALLENTOWN
Lehigh County wants $1.75 million to replace its Reading Road Bridge, as well as the pedestrian bridge next to it, in west Allentown.
That 35-foot-long stone masonry bridge, built in 1824, carries Walnut Street over Cedar Creek next to Union Terrace Park.
County officials report that bridge is in critical condition.
“It’s very possible that the next round of inspection could lead to that bridge being closed to vehicular traffic,” predicted county engineer Stephen Turoscy.
OTHER LEHIGH COUNTY PROJECTS
Upper Macungie Township
The proposed I-78 interchange would be constructed at Adams Road in Upper Macungie, about one mile west of the existing I-78/Route 100 interchange.
J. Scott Stenroos, Upper Macungie’s engineer, predicted traffic congestion at Route 100 and I-78 in the township will more than double in the next 20 years.
He added: “Safety is going to become an issue as congestion increases.”
He said 2,400 to 2,800 vehicles per hour already are on Route 100 between Penn Drive and I-78, adding Route 100 already is over capacity.
The proposed $33-million interchange would be near the west end of Nestle Way, the road that serves warehouses just west of Route 100 at I-78.
The township has 15 or 20 major corporations in two nearby industrial parks that rely on access to I-78 to grow their businesses, said Stenroos.
Added Upper Macungie supervisor Kathy Rader: “Our concern is what happens when nobody can move, when you can’t get your product out or your employees to work on time? We don’t feel we should wait until it gets to that point.”
That interchange project also is supported by neighboring Lower Macungie Township, on the grounds that it will relieve traffic congestion in both townships.
Upper Macungie also wants to improve the intersection of Grim Road and Route 222, west of Route 100.
That $15.8-million project would include additional through lanes in both directions on 222 and jug handle ramps to eliminate left turns on the bypass.
Farther west, Lower Macungie wants to add additional through-lanes on Route 222 around the Breinigsville Road intersection — a $7.5-million project.
And the township wants to improve Route 222 at Mill Creek and Grange roads, an $8.6 million project.
Cetronia and Grange roads would be realigned to create a signalized intersection north of Route 222, with new off-ramps and on-ramps for southbound Route 222.
Initial improvements for that project, involving Cetronia, Grange and Mill Creek roads south of Route 222, will be paid by developers of the Liberty at Mill Creek project.
In another part of the township, officials want $10 million to widen Tilghman Street, with additional lanes in both directions, between Windsor Drive West and Ruppsville Road.
When crashes occur on I-78, Tilghman Street —which parallels the interstate — is used as a detour east of Route 100, explained the township engineer.
Lower Macungie Township
Lower Macungie wants to reconstruct the I-78 and Route 222 interchange, which also is in South Whitehall Township, to improve capacity and safety.
Upper Macungie Township supervisors support that $15-$30 million project. That interchange is not in Upper Macungie, but those supervisors believe it will improve traffic flow through their township.
Three different options are being considered but all would involve adding additional traffic lanes and new ramps linking I-78 and 222 on the northeast side of the interstate.
Farther west, Lower Macungie would like to put Route 222 on a bridge over Krocks Road to create a “grade-separated” intersection where the Hamilton Crossings shopping center will be built.
That $30-million project would include ramps connecting Krocks and Route 222 north of that bridge.
Lower Macungie wants another $15 million to make safety improvements to 3.3 miles of Route 100 from the borough of Macungie to Weilers Road.
That would include adding more traffic signals at some intersections, coordinating the timing of those signals and restricting other intersections along that corridor to right lane turns only.
The township wants $10 million to add an additional lane on Route 222 heading toward Allentown, from the bridge over Pennsylvania Turnpike to I-78, to accommodate future traffic.
It also wants $7.5 million to upgrade the Brookside Road corridor between Buckeye Road and Hamilton Boulevard.
That project would include adding bike lanes and pedestrian pathways, bus stops and vehicular turning lanes at Brookside and Sauerkraut Lane.
Modifications would be made at bridges over the Little Lehigh and Swabia creeks to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles.
Upper and Lower Macungie want $3 million to make improvements on a stretch of Hamilton Boulevard that is more than four miles long, mostly in Lower Macungie.
Those improvements would include bike lanes and sidewalks where feasible, as well as traffic signal improvements, street lights and bus stops — all between the velodrome on the west and the Bieber bus terminal on the east.
Another $3 million project in Lower Macungie would improve safety at the convergence of Route 222, Hamilton Boulevard and Kressler Road, near I-78.
That project would include creating a new intersection linking 222 and Hamilton, with additional traffic signals, traffic lanes and signs.
The township also proposes adding turning lanes and traffic signals at the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and Minesite Road— a $1 million project.
Fountain Hill
Broadway, the main street running for nearly a mile through Fountain Hill, needs new curbs and sidewalks as well as new or repaired ADA-compliant curb ramps.
Both are “severely deteriorated” along Broadway, which runs downhill from Salisbury Township to Bethlehem.
In some places, the condition of sidewalks makes walking hazardous.
That $2.4 million project would be coordinated with reconstruction of the humped and “patchworked” road surface by PennDOT. That road work will not include curbs and sidewalks.
Lowhill Township
Lehigh County wants $1.75 million to replace the superstructure of the 125-foot-long Ruhetown Bridge, which carries Jordan Road over Jordan Creek in Lowhill Township.
Washington Township
The county also wants to replace the Saeger’s Quarry Bridge, which carries County Bridge Road over Trout Creek in Washington Township.
Built in 1888, that 36-foot-long stone masonry arch bridge is considered both structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.
Replacing it will cost the county $650,000.
Lynn Township
The county wants to replace the 105-year-old Long’s Bridge, which carries Allemaengel Road over Ontelaunee Creek in Lynn Township.
The cost to replace that 112-foot-long span is $2 million.
It also wants to replace its 28-foot-long Mosserville Bridge, which carries Springhouse Road over Ontelaunee Creek in Lynn.
The bridge was built in 1834. Replacing it will cost $650,000.
Other Lehigh County bridges
The county wants to do major “historically correct” rehabilitation work on three covered bridges as one $2-million project.
They are the 1858 Rex’s Covered Bridge and the 1860 Geiger’s Covered Bridge, both in North Whitehall, and the 1841 Wehr’s Dam Bridge in South Whitehall.
All three are “significantly historical” but eventually will have to be closed to all vehicular traffic without significant superstructure fortification, according to county officials.
“They are still viable traffic-carrying structures,” said Turoscy, the county engineer. “I’d hate to see them reduced to ‘pedestrians-only’.”
OTHER NORTHAMPTON COUNTY PROJECTS
A $13-million project would extend the Liberty-Water Gap Trail north across northeastern Northampton County to Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Monroe County.
The 3.4-mile-long trail segment would parallel Route 611.
A three-lane section of Route 611 would be turned into a two-lane highway to create room for the trail.
The trail now ends at the Portland-Columbia pedestrian bridge over the Delaware River in Portland. From there it goes east across New Jersey to Jersey City.
It is considered a main section of a proposed 9/11 National Memorial Trail.
Glendon
The High Street bridge over the Lehigh Canal and Norfolk Southern railroad in Glendon is closed to all use and needs to be replaced.
The bridge, which is owned by Northampton County, is 137 feet long and 25 feet wide. It was built in 1910.
When opened, the bridge connected Glendon with Hugh Moore Park.
Replacing it will cost about $6 million.
One reason for that cost is because a replacement bridge would have to be higher to meet requirements of the railroad, said Richard Young, the county’s public works director.
Bath
In East Allen Township, Bath proposes a $7.28-million project called “the Bath connector.”
It would be a new road linking Route 512 with Routes 329/987 just south of Bath.
It would go west from Route 512 at Silvercrest Road.
Borough officials believe it will reduce the number of tractor-trailers trying to negotiate tight intersections in the center of the little town, improving safety and reducing congestion.
That project has been is in the LVTS long-range transportation plan since 2004. Bath officials are requesting that it remain in the plan, because the borough and East Allen Township cannot afford to do it.
That is just one of three projects Bath proposes to help solve traffic volume and safety issues in the one-square-mile borough, which has nearly 2,700 residents.
“All the traffic goes into a two-block area in the center of town,” said borough manager Tom Petrucci. He indicated 61 percent of the traffic accidents in Bath occur in that area.
Routes 512, 248, 329 and 987 converge in Bath.
A $1.25-million project would install an automated traffic surveillance and control system to improve traffic flow through all four signalized intersections in Bath.
The borough also proposes a $401,344 streetscape improvement project on South Chestnut Street between West Main and Northampton streets.
Petrucci said PennDOT plans to realign Route 248 so it will continue west on Northampton Street rather than turning south onto South Chestnut. That project should be completed by 2017.
South Chestnut then will become a one-way street, with traffic going north.
Parking would be expanded to both sides of the street, trees would be planted and a pedestrian-friendly square would be at Main and Chestnut.
Also in Bath, the county wants to replace its Mill Street bridge over West Monocacy Creek.
That 46-foot-long bridge, constructed in 1936, is one-lane wide and considered functionally obsolete.
Replacing it may cost up to $1.25 million.
Plainfield Township
Plainfield Township wants to replace the deteriorating Grand Central Road Bridge over Little Bushkill Creek east of Wind Gap.
The existing concrete arch bridge is abut 100 years old. It is a single-lane structure, only 16 feet wide.
Replacing it will cost an estimated $330,000.
Township officials maintain replacing the bridge is critical to maintain a safe and well-maintained road network.
If that bridge has to be closed, that will add six to nine minutes to emergency response times in the township, said engineer Michael Kukles.
Another proposed project in Plainfield Township involves replacing one 19th-century railroad bridge and rehabilitating another on the existing Plainfield Township Recreation Trail between Pen Argyl and Stockertown.
The bridge that would be replaced with a culvert crosses Little Bushkill Creek north of Delabole Road.
The other bridge crosses the same creek just north of Jones Hill Road.
That one would be rehabilitated by widening it and installing a new deck, railing and fencing.
Those two trail bridge projects would cost a total of $275,000.
Lehigh Township
Lehigh Township wants to improve the intersection of Route 248 (Lehigh Drive) and Blue Mountain Drive in the village of Cherryville.
That $2.5-million project will involve acquiring right-of-way and demolishing “old, dilapidated buildings” to add turning lanes at that intersection.
Traffic signals would be upgraded and the shoulders of the roads would be widened.
Blue Mountain Drive often is heavily traveled at this time of year because it leads to the Blue Mountain ski area.
The township wants to make similar improvements at the intersection of Blue Mountain Drive and Route 946 (Mountain View Drive) in the village of Danielsville.
That also would be a $2.5-million project.
Other Route 248 improvements would be at the south end of Lehigh Gap in the township. That project focuses on Route 248’s intersections with Routes 873 and 145 (Riverview Drive).
Lehigh Township wants $50,000 to do a study aimed at creating a coordinated system to improve those two intersections, which are used by about 20,000 vehicles a day.
The township also wants to repair or replace two old bridges on Route 248, which are near each other and go over a tributary of Bertsch Creek.
One of the small deteriorating bridges is near the First Niagara Bank, the other is farther east near Municipal Road.
Both were built in 1928.
Each bridge project is estimated to cost $200,000.
Northampton County wants to replace a 56-foot-long bridge in Lehigh Township, which carries Spruce Drive over Hokendauqua Creek.
Replacing that functionally obsolete span, which was built in 1913, will cost up to $1.4 million.
Washington Township
The county-owned bridge that carries Ackerman Road over Waltz Creek needs to be replaced in Washington Township. That one-lane, structurally deficient bridge was constructed in 1922. Replacing it will cost up to $575,000.
Another county-owned bridge in Washington Township that needs to be replaced also spans Waltz Creek, but on Factoryville Road.
The one-lane bridge also was built in 1922 and is considered structurally deficient. Replacing it will cost up to $1.12 million.
Lower Mount Bethel Township
The county’s Depue Road Bridge over Oughoughton Creek in Lower Mount Bethel Township needs to be replaced.
Built in 1937, the 46-foot-long bridge is only one lane wide.
Replacing it will cost up to $1.1 million.
The county once proposed closing and removing that bridge, but the township objected.
Also in Lower Mount Bethel, the county needs up to $700,000 to replace the Rasley Hill Road Bridge over Little Martins Creek, which also is a one lane wide, structurally deficient span.
And the county wants to replace the Clearview Road bridge over Bushkill Creek in the township, at a cost of up to $700,000, and the Miller Road bridge over Oughoughton Creek, at a cost of up to $1.1 million.
East Allen Township
East Allen Township officials want to replace their 92-year-old, “structurally deficient” Jacksonville Road Bridge, which crosses over Monocacy Creek between Routes 329 and 512 south of Bath.
Replacing the deteriorating bridge, which is “in very poor condition” and has no sidewalks or shoulders, would cost $2 million.
Moore Township
The county wants to replace the small Pool Road Bridge over Hokendauqua Creek in Moore Township, which could cost up to $550,000.
That one-lane bridge was built in 1915.
Other Northampton County bridge projects
Northampton County is submitting a $1.25-million proposal to rehabilitate five historical stone arch bridges as one project request.
They are:
* The 102-foot-long Meadows Road bridge over Saucon Creek in Lower Saucon Township, which was built in 1858.
* The 90-foot-long Hanoverville Road bridge over Monocacy Creek in Lower Nazareth Township.
* The 58-foot-long Stone Bridge Road span over Hokendauqua Creek in Allen Township.
* The 79-foot-long Glase Road bridge over Hokendauqua Creek in Moore Township, which was built in 1839.
* The 55-foot-long Cedar Drive bridge over Indian Creek in Lehigh Township, which was built in 1826