WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has plans to replace the Fifth Street Bridge over Route 22 and wants to hear from you.
PennDOT Engineering District 5-0 invites the public to a virtual plans display through June 7.
Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2028, but additional design work is required before construction schedules or staging plans can be finalized.Pennsylvania Department of Transportation news release
Community members can view and provide input on the proposed plans for the bridge, which was removed in 2017 because of horizontal and vertical clearance issues.
The project documents and comment form can be accessed at www.PennDOT.gov/District5. Click on the Public Meetings link under the District Links heading, choose the Lehigh County box, then the Fifth Street Bridge tile.
The digital version of the information will be available to view online until June 7.
Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2028, but additional design work is required before construction schedules or staging plans can be finalized.
Vital transportation corridor
The bridge will measure 47 feet wide and 163 feet long, with a clearance of about 17 feet, the plans show.
In its newly constructed state, the project will re-establish a vital transportation corridor to Whitehall Township and restore community connectivity lost with the removal of the previous bridge.
The previous bridge was removed in 2017 under a previous U.S. Route 22 project.
The roadway approaches to the south and north of the bridge will be reconstructed. The new bridge and approach roadways will include sidewalks on both sides.
Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2028, but additional design work is required before construction schedules or staging plans can be finalized.
Residents needing translation/interpretation services for the plan documents or who have special needs or have special concerns that require individual attention can contact Design Consultant Project Manager John M. Nagle at 610-234-0496 or by email at john.nagle@aecom.com, or PennDOT Consultant Project Manager Christine T. Frey at 484-339-2682 or by email at c-chfrey@pa.gov.
