ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Here's some news for those of you who travel Interstate-22 in the Lehigh Valley.
What’s that, you say? There isn’t an Interstate-22?
That’s correct, there isn’t, but maybe not for long.
Because of the increased volume of traffic on U.S. Route 22, the 23-mile portion of the major artery through Lehigh and Northampton counties, it now meets the threshold required to be designated an interstate road.
“We have a very good justification for it,”Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky A. Bradley
The proposed change was approved at the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study meeting last week.
It was discussed at the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s transportation committee meeting on Thursday night.
Planning commission Executive Director Becky A. Bradley said data indicates that 100,000 vehicles travel Route 22 daily — more than five times that of Interstate-78.
“So we have a very good justification for it,” Bradley said.
The process of transitioning Route 22’s designation to an interstate road will involve the planning commission and the state and the U.S. Transportation departments.
'Maybe a year'
“There’s all sorts of geometric implications related to an interstate,” Bradley said.
“For example, [road] shoulders must be much, much wider. And you’re talking about sound walls and ramps that meet interstate standards.
"We’ve all driven on Route 22. It needs to become safer.”Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky A. Bradley
“And if you propose improvements along the routes, they would be different than requirements for a regular highway.
"We’ve all driven on Route 22. It needs to become safer.”
As for a timeline, Bradley said neighboring regions that transitioned a state road to an interstate generally took two years to complete.
“But this could be faster — maybe a year,” she said.
Considerations must also be made, Bradley said, for practical things such as better emergency management services because of the increased volume of vehicles.
“More vehicles means more incidents,” she said. “We have to be able to get to them.”
U.S. Route 22 runs 650 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, through the Lehigh Valley and to Newark, New Jersey.
LVPC is leading the Route 22: Mobility, Safety and Congestion Management Plan for the Lehigh Valley.
The study, funded by the LVPC and PennDOT, will address safety and congestion while also considering environmental quality, economic development and future technologies for the busy corridor.
Proposals for the project, which began this summer and is expected to be completed by summer 2026, are due in October.
Trail map update
Also Thursay, the transportation committee presented an updated map for the Lehigh Valley Regional Trail Connection Strategy.
Advocates for trail development met Sept. 12 to identify and share the top trail gaps.
The map showed existing open trails, conceptual trails in municipal and regional plans and trails under construction, including the South Bethlehem Greenway and water trails.
The map will help with the examination of growth of the regional trails and help users identify the trails.
An additional benefit of the updated project will help stakeholders apply for grants for trail projects and to close the trail gaps.
