Nazareth, PA – Today, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Deputy Secretary for Planning Larry Shifflet and District 5 Executive Mike Rebert discussed bridge and roadway improvements on Routes 33 and 1004 that will begin sooner because of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

“We’re quickly using these new federal investments to support and accelerate projects across the state,” Shifflet said. “Pennsylvanians are seeing more roadway and bridge improvements than would have been possible without this critical law.”

The upcoming Route 33 projects include resurfacing between the Northampton County line and Lower Cherry Valley Road in Hamilton and Ross townships, Monroe County, and replacing the Route 33 bridges over Bushkill Creek in Stockertown Borough and Palmer Township, Northampton County. The resurfacing project is anticipated to be bid in August and the bridge project is expected to be bid in January 2023. 

Funding from the BIL is allowing the resurfacing to begin three years faster because construction funds weren’t previously identified, and the bridge project is expected to start roughly five months sooner than before the BIL was passed.

“Route 33 is a critical north-south route between interstates 78 and 80,” PennDOT District Executive Mike Rebert said. “We are thankful the federal infrastructure funding allows us to move more quickly to advertise and award contracts for these projects.”   

The Route 33 resurfacing project estimate is $6 million to $6.5 million with the BIL supporting $2.6 million of the cost. This project involves milling, concrete patching, scratch course, binder course, wearing course, sawing and sealing, joint cleaning and sealing, guide rail, median barrier installation, drainage improvements, shoulder rumble strips, pavement markings, and other miscellaneous construction from approximately the Northampton/Monroe County line to approximately Route 2002/Lower Cherry Valley Road. Construction is estimated to last a year to 18 months.

The Route 33 Bushkill Creek bridges’ estimated $20 million to $22 million cost will be supported by nearly $500,000 in BIL funds. Given the geographic challenges in the immediate area making sinkholes and ground movement more common, the project will mitigate the karst topography and help ensure the bridges’ long-term stability and safety. 

The proposed replacement structures are precast arch bridges to be constructed on foundations that will extend under the entire bridge area including the Bushkill Creek. These foundations are designed to span over sinkholes, if they occur, and to make it possible to fill any future sinkholes through the openings in the grid foundation. The precast arch is being designed to endure differing settlements in the area, more than a traditional bridge composed of beams and a concrete deck. Construction is estimated to last two years to 30 months.

The BIL will also support the Route 1004 Lower Swiftwater Road Bridge over Forest Hills Run in Paradise Township, Monroe County. A contract for the bridge’s superstructure replacement and rehabilitation is expected to be put out for bids this summer. The cost is estimated to be $750,000 to $1 million with construction lasting about one year.

The projects are examples of those projects supported and accelerated by the BIL in the District 5 region covering Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties. In 2022 alone the BIL is bringing at least $50.8 million in additional funding to the District 5 region to be allocated by the department and its local Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organization (MPO/RPO) partners:

• Reading Area Transportation Study will receive at least $18.4 million more;

• Lehigh Valley Transportation Study will receive at least $20.3 million more; and

• Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance will receive at least $12.1 million more.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. 

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties at www.penndot.gov/District5.

Information about infrastructure in District 5, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.gov/D5Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.   

Follow PennDOT on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Ronald J. Young, Jr., M.P.A., 610-871-4555, ronyoung@pa.gov; Sean A. Brown, 610-871-4556, sebrown@pa.gov.

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