Route 512/33 Improvements May Not Start Until 2009
By William J. Ford, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
Jul. 21–Motorists in the Slate Belt may not see traffic lights and road improvements at the Route 512/Route 33 interchange in Plainfield Township for four years, officials from the state Department of Transportation announced Friday morning.
Heather J. Heeter, project manager for PennDOT, said the agency is working on a final design to install a traffic light at each exit ramp and repair roads just outside Wind Gap. Construction work may not begin until spring 2009.
That’s fine with Wind Gap Council Vice President George Hinton, because the work will be paid for.
“Here in the northern tier of the Lehigh Valley, we were always left out of the loop in getting money for projects,” Hinton said after a 20-minute news conference at the Wind Gap municipal offices. “The traffic that comes through here has increased and the work will help ease the flow of traffic.”
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-15th District, presented a $2 million oversized check toward the project. The money is part of a $284 billion transportation bill Congress passed two years ago.
“We all know the traffic flow issues you have up here. [The money] is to improve traffic flow and highway safety,” Dent said while standing next to Hinton, state Rep. Craig Dally, R-Northampton, Northampton County Executive John Stoffa and County Councilman Ron Angle.
After the news conference in Wind Gap, Dent presented another oversized check, for $100,000, in Pen Argyl for upgrades to its 47-year-old sewer plant. The project is estimated to cost $8.2 million.
Dent held a public forum at Bangor’s Bee-Hive Community Center to discuss local issues with 20 to 25 residents.
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