Lehigh Times

The Wolf Administration and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) recently discussed projects that are out for bid this year in the six-county east central region including regional roads and bridges funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

According to a release by Gov. Tom Wolf on April 18, the event was held near the Interstate 78 interchange with Route 61 that is being reconstructed in a project costing $125.6 million. This year’s projects under PennDOT District 5 amount to about $500 million and covers Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties.

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

Sen. Casey said that, thanks to the infrastructure law, the state has been able to start rebuilding its roads and bridges, as well as create vital infrastructure statewide. He said the BIL has allowed for projects to get started that have been on hold, which includes the Interstate 78 exchange project and others in Berks County.

“These construction projects will also create good-paying jobs,” Senator Casey said. “We are making progress to rebuild our infrastructure and I will continue to work in Congress to bring infrastructure investments to the Commonwealth.”

The projects in the district this year include 116 miles of paving, 31 bridges to be repaired or replaced and 265 miles of roadway to be seal coated. This year the BIL is bringing $50.8 million in funding to District 5. It includes Reading Area Transportation Study receiving $18.4 million; Lehigh Valley Transportation Study receiving $20.3 million; and Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance receiving $12.1 million.

An example of an ongoing project is improving I-78 for $23.3 million in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties and the work on I-78 amounting to $293.9 million in total. There are a number of projects to start this year with a wide range of price tags for resurfacing roads and replacing roadways and bridges.

“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,” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Melissa Batula said.

Motorists are asked to keep in mind safety as construction projects are underway. This includes minding signage, workers, speed limits and turning on headlights. Travelers are asked to also use both lanes to the merge point and take turns merging when in high traffic areas.

Information about infrastructure in District 5 is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D5Results. PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects are at www.projects.penndot.gov.