Road Ahead

Projects in Lehigh and Northampton counties were approved to get state funding by the Commonwealth Financing Authority on Monday, Feb. 24. Funding for the roadway upgrades in Northampton County alone amounted to more than $1.5 million, with a project in Lehigh County bumping that total to more than $2 million.

LehighValleyNews.com hosted a roundtable discussion on traffic and traffic safety in the Lehigh Valley. It's part of The Road Ahead project.

Readers have expressed interest in light rail or a more robust public transit system, but even improved options have failed to match the convenience they seek.

Water Street in Whitehall Township where a man was struck and killed on Dec. 25 may be temporarily closed to address safety concerns, Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr. said.

On this week's episode of Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about local traffic development and how residents feel about traffic issues.

Local officials in places like Lowhill Township want more tools to help them control industrial development and traffic in their borders.

The work would begin near Liberty High School, traveling about a ¾-mile south to an intersection just north of Nisky Hill Cemetery.

Many interchanges on Route 22 and Route 309 are badly outdated, leaving drivers to navigate increasingly unsafe roads. PennDOT has plans to address several of them, including trouble spots in Fullerton and Center Valley.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers have continued to raise concerns about traffic safety in the area. On Tuesday, Sen. Jarrett Coleman announced that PennDOT would designate Route 22 a safety corridor, which should be a step toward traffic safety, a PennDOT representative said.

Bethlehem roadway improvements will include, but are not limited to, installation of curb bump outs and pedestrian refuge islands at certain intersections to reduce the crossing distance.