Northhampton News

Last month, the Wolf Administration and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) gathered at the Interstate 78 interchange with Route 61 to discuss the projects that will be bid this year in the east central region involving regional roads and bridges that are made possible from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The location of the event was one project that amounts to $125.6 to reconstruct the roadway. The total value of construction projects this year in PennDOT District 5 is about $500 million. The counties covered are Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill. It involves about 116 miles of paving, 31 bridges being repaired or replaced and about 265 miles of roadway to be seal coated.

“Thanks to the infrastructure law we are beginning to rebuild our roads, bridges and more vital infrastructure across Pennsylvania, and we are jumpstarting projects that have been put on hold,” Casey said. “The Interstate 78 exchange project and others throughout Berks County and the region will make it easier and safer for Pennsylvanians to travel and commute. These construction projects will also create good-paying jobs. We are making progress to rebuild our infrastructure and I will continue to work in Congress to bring infrastructure investments to the Commonwealth.”

The improvements are thanks to the BIL and this year alone the law has brought at least $50.8 million in funds to the District 5 region, to be allocated by DOT and local Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organization partners. These include the Reading Area Transportation Study receiving $18.4 million in additional funds; Lehigh Valley Transportation Study receiving at least $20.3 million and Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance receiving at least $12.1 million more.

“We have many meaningful projects that will modernize our infrastructure while creating sustainable, good-paying jobs that will be transformative for our transportation system and our local economies,” PennDOT Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Melissa Batula said.

There are a number of notable ongoing projects in 2022 that will continue, including reconstructing I-78 between exit 35 and Lehigh County Line in Greenwich for $168.3 million. Projects have a wide scope going from milling and paving work worth $3.4 million to complete reconstruction work, such as the I-78 project.

Projects expected to begin this year also have a wide scope and price range. A notable project with a $93.8 million price tag is realigning and reconstructing Exit 308/Prospect Street interchange on I-80 in East Stroudsburg Borough in Monroe County. 

“Pennsylvania is greatly benefitting from the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure law,” said Wolf. “We are fortunate to have this funding which is being used to address additional infrastructure needs.”