ALBURTIS, Pa. — The trucks stream from the multitude of warehouses in western Lehigh County on their way to the typical byways for such transportation: Interstate 78, Route 22 and others.
Those trucks don't originate from this tiny borough of 2,500 people, but they traverse it as if they did — driving streets they never were meant to, despite signage and policing efforts.
And bringing damage and burdening residents.
- Residents in Alburtis have faced excess truck traffic and property damage in the small municipality after nearby warehouses were constructed
- Challenges related to deterrence and enforcement have led to the problem continuing to impact
- A road extension connecting Congdon Hill Drive and Route 100 may bring relief and is being constructed, but continues to face delays in completion
Reesidents are speaking out — online and at Borough Council meetings — about the impact that traffic is having.
"It's just creating havoc, and they're destroying our property."Alburtis Councilman Hector Moss
"It's a nightmare," Councilman Hector Moss said, noting a brand new stop sign that already was destroyed following sidewalk renovations on Franklin Street.
"It's just creating havoc, and they're destroying our property."
Those in the borough attribute the increase to the construction of many warehouses in nearby Lower Macungie Township nearby that drivers often use state routes to access.
Despite signage and police enforcement, officials say, the problem has not been solved in recent years since nearby warehouses started to be constructed, council President Ron DeIaco said.
"It's a cause of frustration for the town."Ron DeIaco, Alburtis Borough Council president
"With the weight of the trucks that are coming in and out of here, our infrastructure is just basically crumbling," DeIaco said. "You can see the edges of the road starting to chip a little bit, we've got bridges they can't go over, yet they're still coming in on those bridges.
"It's a cause of frustration for the residents in town."
Despite the challenges continuing, a long-delayed relief may be on the way.
A community hardship
On a community Facebook group for the borough, many residents spoke of issues with trucks affecting them personally — be it electrical outages caused by a powerline hit by a truck, property damage to yards, vehicles or porches, or seeing trucks stuck on a nearby road.
"My wife's car was totaled in our driveway when a truck tried to turn out of our alley," resident Jason Douglas wrote. "The driver tried to hit and run, but a vigilant neighbor chased him down and got the DOT numbers off the truck."
Joette Conrad, another resident, wrote, "Our front yard was very torn up by a truck."
Resident Kelly Anne Mccarthy-Ruch wrote, "I just moved in the area last August and it is so crazy how many trucks come through. I have seen numerous situations throughout our little town. Just don't understand why they are coming through."
Residents often have posted complaints about the trucks, noting when they have been stuck or when they have caused damage.
There have even been instances where trucks had been hit by trains going through the main corridor of the borough.
Visible truck damage could be seen at different times over the past year, such as on the corner of Main Street and School Street, at Main Street and East Penn Avenue, and on the front lawn of the EPIC Learning Center.
"The tractor-trailer truck concerns, they're everywhere in the valley, where especially this side of Lehigh County, if you talk to other townships."Alburtis Police Chief Tony Alsleben
"We have one resident who had their porch knocked off three times," DeIaco said.
The resident on Main Street confirmed the truck damage had destroyed their porch multiple times, but didn't wish to comment.
Caught in the middle
Alburtis Police Chief Tony Alsleben said the borough is, unfortunately, caught in the middle between a lot of warehouses and the roads that lead to them.
"The tractor-trailer truck concerns, they're everywhere in the Valley, where especially this side of Lehigh County, if you talk to other townships," Alsleben said.
"It's a little unique here, because we're so close these warehouses and it's such a small borough, and the streets are pretty, pretty narrow.
"It's very frustrating for our residents."Alburtis Police Chief Tony Asleben
"That's what's so concerning for us, because if you don't know how to drive that truck, and there's times where they can't navigate the streets, then we have damage, and now we have poles down.
"It's very frustrating for our residents."
Enforcement challenges
Alsleben said trucks often are trying to access warehouses on Quarry Road by coming off of Route 100 via Spring Creek Road and later East Penn Avenue as their GPS tries to take them to the most direct route.
The "correct" way, he said, is Schoeneck Road, which is farther down Route 100, before turning onto Alburtis Road and looping up toward the warehouses.
"They're following their GPS, and then what's happening is it is a lot of the GPS directions that will be taking them through the town," Alsleben said.
Upper Macungie Board of Supervisors Vice Chairwoman Kathy Rader in an April meeting discussed similar problems facing that township, which has been faced with the impacts of amultitude of warehouse plans over recent years bringing increased truck traffic.
"The bigger problems are the independent [truckers] because of the expense of having [specialized GPS devices], and that's been a big problem [only] not here, across the state," he said.
Alsleben noted times that trucks had gotten stuck on the railroad tracks leading through town, and police had to advise and escort truck drivers out, and issued citations if there were any violations.
He said that recently, police have been putting extra manpower out during the day, during "high truck times," often positioning them by the stop light near the extension, trying to prevent trucks from entering the borough via Spring Creek Road.
"We found that most of these truck drivers are not, from our assessment when we stop them, it's not a malicious thing," Alsleben said. "They're not doing it just for a shortcut, they're just falling, GPS has no idea where they're going. New warehouses, they have never been here before, they're coming in and boom."
Police efforts praised
Members of the local government praised the deterrence efforts, even if they don't stop the problem from happening.
"If it wasn't for our police department, honestly, these people wouldn't get caught, When these trucks hit something, when they destroy something, they want to keep going unless we're lucky enough that a resident that can get us the description, "Mayor Kathleen Palmer
"If it wasn't for our police department, honestly, these people wouldn't get caught," Mayor Kathleen Palmer said.
"When these trucks hit something, when they destroy something, they want to keep going unless we're lucky enough that a resident that can get us the description, the name of the trucking company on the side of the trailer numbers on the back. So now it's an added expense to us."
Council President DeIaco said there has been an issue with local enforcement on state roads, limiting what they can do to stop truckers once they are inside the borough going down the main roads.
"We can't stop anything on the state road," DeIaco said. "It has to be on a borough road. Franklin Street is a state road, so when they go through here we can't do anything about it, unless they turn onto a borough road" such as Church Street.
Alsleben said police have worked with Upper Macungie Township and state police as needed, and that they have been very supportive.
Road extension may bring relief
Relief may be on the way in the form of new road connecting the intersection of Congdon Hill Drive and Spring Creek Road.
Warehouse complexes line Congdon Hill Drive as well as Quarry Road at the center of the under-construction expansion, across from Quarry Lane Park.
On the Lower Macungie Township website, the project's listed goal is to connect Spring Creek Road and Route 100, involving new construction from Spring Creek Road to Quarry Road.
The last phase will connect a newly reconstructed Quarry Road to Route 100. Township officials say they do not feel it is appropriate to open the existing quarry road entrance to truck traffic.
The existing Quarry Road will be closed off to Route 100 and a new dead end created.
It includes a new rail crossing and will bring direct access for many warehouses supporting companies such as Uline, East Penn Manufacturing, Cooper Tires and more to a major state route, avoiding the residential area of Alburtis entirely.
The website states that construction began at the end of July 2021 and will last until summer 2023, but recent communications from Lower Macungie push that date back, likely to next year.
Trees have been planted and the railroad crossing is in place, but the resulting project has had many permitting delays involving the railways, the state Public Utility Commission, the state Transportation Department and others once it formally began.
Delays push project back
Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Beitel said in June that the part of the road between Spring Creek and the part of Quarry Road containing the Cooper Tire warehouse has been base paved, and just requires approvals related to the rail crossing.
"Best case scenario, I think nine months for that side. Worst case, I would say 14 [months], maybe, depending on weather. Approximately a year."Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Beitel in June
The side that intersects Route 100, however, still requires additional right of ways to be approved from nearby properties, and requires PennDOT permitting and other storm water, utility, and intersection improvement work.
"Best case scenario, I think nine months for that side," Beitel said in June. "Worst case, I would say 14 [months], maybe, depending on weather. Approximately a year."
The project is divided into two parts, with two developers taking the lead: Prologis for the section stretching from Spring Creek Road to Quarry Road, and the Jaindl Land Company for the part from Quarry Road to Route 100.
Beitel said many parties have involvement with different parts of the project, contributing to challenges and slowdowns, including Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the rail crossing; UGI and PPL for utility relocation; the conservation district and PennDOT for permitting; and the two developers.
"It was only supposed to take like a year, and it just got away," Beitel said. "We ground down on right-of-way acquisitions and things of that nature.
"It's been a lot of trying to get things to completion."
Beitel said the project has been "on the township's radar" for about a decade.
Slow progress leads to frustration
Mayor Palmer and DeIaco both say they're hopeful that extension could fix a significant chunk of the truck problem facing the borough.
Still, there is a level of frustration at the slow progress of the project as the warehouses continued to be constructed and leased out.
"I understand they're frustrated because it doesn't seem like there's a lot of answers, but really, we're waiting now."Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Beitel
"Lower Macungie was never supposed to open those warehouses up until they had Sauerkraut done," Mayor Palmer said. "Now, we're five years later."
DeIaco said in the past, the borough's relationship with Lower Macungie has been more strained, but they currently have an improving relationship with more information and consideration.
Still, there is concern from council members and residents over when the project actually will see completion.
"I understand they're frustrated because it doesn't seem like there's a lot of answers, but really, we're waiting now," Beitel said.
Additional efforts to continue
Beitel said Prologis, one of the primary warehouse owners, tries to educate workers in its warehouses and has been responsive in the past.
Tim McDonough, the Pennsylvania Branch Manager for ULINE, which operates one of the warehouses at the Alburtis Industrial Park, said trucks leaving the area are not their trucks or trailers, and are owned and operated by external companies.
"There is no reason for any of this equipment to turn right from Congdon Hill Drive onto Spring Creek Road traveling towards Alburtis," McDonough said in an email.
Beitel noted that a lot can be improved related to signage to get trucks back to main roads or on the correct routes to desired destinations.
However, he acknowledged they are limited in what they can put on state-owned roads as a local municipality.
"I don't know if there's a magic-wand solution. That road could easily open and still I don't know how that's going to affect it."Alburtis Police Chief Tony Alsleben
"PennDOT really, they don't like wayfinding signage," Beitel said. "It's usually not approved to put wayfinding signage, but I think a lot of that would help be helpful. As many signs as you could get."
As for enforcement in the borough, Alsleben said he is skeptical the extension will solve all of their problems.
"That will alleviate a lot of it," he said. "It's not going to stop it because we still have trucks that come up from the south from the turnpike, and they somehow wiggle their way up through the back roads.
"I don't know if there's a magic-wand solution. That road could easily open and still I don't know how that's going to affect it."
