LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — A road long desired to bring relief from residential neighborhood truck traffic may be nearing completion.
Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners on Thursday accepted necessary right-of-way agreements over nearby properties for the Sauerkraut Lane Extension Project, which has been under construction for multiple years.
The road extends from Spring Creek Road to an at-grade crossing of Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, before connecting to Quarry Road, which also has been subject to expansion as part of the project.
"It's approaching a conclusion."Lower Macungie Township solicitor Mark Fisher
When completed, it will give multiple large warehouse and industrial facilities a more direct access to Route 100.
In the same resolution, the board adopted the road and an access road to the township compost center as public roads.
The township did not give an expected completion date, but said it is nearing the end of the long process.
"It's approaching a conclusion," township solicitor Mark Fisher said. "This needs to be done now so that the township can do the wearing course paving."
Fisher said the board soon will see another resolution to officially name the roads.
Could bring trucking traffic relief
Officials in nearby Alburtis said the small borough has faced large trucks damaging property for years because of multiple warehouses just outside of its borders in Lower Macungie Township as drivers follow GPS instructions through narrow residential streets.
Many in the borough are hopeful completion of the route will divert the truck traffic away from the dense residential area.
"It's a nightmare. It's just creating havoc, and they're destroying our property."Councilman Hector Moss
"It's a nightmare," Councilman Hector Moss said. "It's just creating havoc, and they're destroying our property."
He said a brand new stop sign already was destroyed following sidewalk renovations on Franklin Street last year.
Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Beitel said last year that right-of-way approvals and the work related to it were a significant delay to the project.
The project was 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.
Alburtis Borough Council members said trucks often try 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.
