Transportation News

Utility work on Main and East Third streets is expected to have drivers detouring through the end of the week, according to Public Works Director Michael Alkhal.

The toll booths are no longer needed as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission adopts open road tolling, with fares collected electronically via overhead structures between highway interchanges.

The state Office of Open Records issued the order after LehighValleyNews.com appealed Allentown's denial of a request for records under the state's Right to Know law.

Speeding was so rampant on Center Valley Parkway in Upper Saucon Township that LehighValleyNews.com recorded someone going 95 mph near Promenade Saucon Valley.

Eileen Miller, whose son Paul Miller was killed in a collision by a distracted driver, on Friday spoke on a piece of legislation that bans the use of handheld devices while driving in Pennsylvania.

Officials will compare data they collect from the temporary devices against previously collected traffic data “to see if they’re actually effective,” according to Public Works Director Mark Shahda.

Governor Josh Shapiro, joined by local and state politicians, spoke out in support of mass transit investments for the betterment of the Commonwealth, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hecktown Oaks Thursday.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Thursday for a 145-room Courtyard by Marriott at the Lehigh Valley International Airport. The hotel is expected to open late next year or early 2027.

Paul Miller’s Law was signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last year. Miller was a Scranton resident and East Stroudsburg University senior who died on Route 33 in Monroe County in 2010 as he headed home from Bethlehem.

Pennsylvania State Police said a 27-year-old passenger in a speeding Mercedes-Benz died after the vehicle struck another and veered off Route 22 into a tree.