Widening Route 22 and resurfacing routes 191, 512 and 611 are all included on a Pennsylvania transportation project list made public today.
View full sizeBethlehem's Fahy Bridge is on a state transportation project list made public today. Widening Route 22 and resurfacing routes 191, 512 and 611 are all included on a Pennsylvania transportation project list made public today.
The Department of Transportation had only allowed state legislators to view the list for two weeks but today released it publicly after repeated inquiries from the Associated Press.
The road projects would be done if Gov. Tom Corbett’s transportation plan or a larger plan passed by the state Senate is put into law.
Corbett has been pushing for his plan to pass before July 1, when the Legislature traditionally leaves Harrisburg for the summer.
Currently there’s $108 million set aside to widen Route 22 between Airport Road and 15th Street and another $44.5 million would be allocated for the project if Corbett’s plan passed. The Senate plan would provide another $8 million for preliminary engineering work to widen Route 22 further, between Airport Road and Route 512 and between 15th Street and Route 309.
Resurfacing routes 191, 512 and 611 all are included in Corbett’s plan. Route 191 would be resurfaced from Elizabeth Avenue in Bethlehem to the Monroe County line at a cost of $6.3 million. Route 512 would be resurfaced from Bethlehem to Upper Mount Bethel Township at a cost of $8.5 million and Route 611 would be resurfaced from the Monroe County line to the Bucks County line for $8.7 million.
Bridge projects also are part of the list, including rehabilitating Bethlehem’s Hill-to-Hill ($54 million) and Fahy ($25 million) bridges along with a bridge over Route 33 in Plainfield Township for $4.5 million.
The entire project list can be viewed at dotdecade.pa.gov, where it can be sorted by county or legislative district.
Corbett’s plan would provide $1.8 billion a year in transportation funding while the Senate’s would provide $2.5 billion. Most of the money for both plans would be raised by increasing wholesale gas taxes, which officials have said likely would be passed on to drivers.
Senators approved the $2.5 billion plan in a 45 to 5 vote on June 5, just minutes before they received the project list. That plan was expected to undergo changes in the House Transportation Committee before any vote is held, which could occur on Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.