ALLENTOWN, Pa. — By Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley's estimation, projects listed in the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study aren't just a wish list — they're needed.
In a presentation to members of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce transportation committee on Thursday, Bradley noted the importance of comprehensive planning, given the growth the Lehigh Valley has had and continues to have.
"Our population growth is going to be about 14.4%. I think the important takeaway here is that's equivalent to adding another city of Bethlehem and another city of Easton by 2050. So where are all those folks gonna go? We have to think about that, and how are they going to get around as well."
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley"Our population growth is going to be about 14.4%," Bradley told the group. "I think the important takeaway here is that's equivalent to adding another city of Bethlehem and another city of Easton by 2050.
"So where are all those folks gonna go? We have to think about that, and how are they going to get around as well."
Lehigh Valley Transportation Study is taking public feedback on the updated plan until Oct. 6.
The published draft gives a look into more than $4.39 billion in projects planned by the state Transportation Department and Lehigh Valley municipalities for the coming decades.
The plan is more ambitious than the wide-spanning FutureLV Regional Plan originally set out, with the group stating that funding is anticipated to have a 70% increase over the money originally projected for the Lehigh Valley during the last update in 2019 as the transportation portion of FutureLV.
The group said the increase can be attributed to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's passage in 2021 and the Lehigh Valley's status as one of Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing regions.
In the plan, regional funding is supplemented by nearly $1 billion in state and federal grant funding specifically targeted at the interstate system, bringing the total money projected to flow into the Lehigh Valley to $5,363,463,276 by 2050.
Still, despite more than $5 billion in anticipated funding, the plan lists at least $2.27 billion worth of "unmet needs" that exist in the region.
Anticipated improvements include highway work on major corridors such as Routes 22, 309, 33 and 100; bridge improvements; and smaller "community projects" such as trail projects, streetscape renewals and traffic safety enhancements.
During her presentation, Bradley elaborated on priorities, and how meeting with municipalities and taking survey responses from the public set them.
Public priorities presented included traffic flow, road pavement, bridges and walking. Safety was listed as a top priority for road work.
The presentation also noted the need to address equitable access to reliable transportation, which goes along with goals to provide greater equity related to housing, education and employment opportunities.
The Long-Range Transportation Plan will be up for approval by Lehigh Valley Transportation Study on Oct.18 before it heads to the Federal Highway Administration for review.
Lehigh Valley Transportation Study consists of LVPC staff cooperating with PennDOT and LANTA.
If approved, the plan would take effect in 2024.
Public comment can be left in a form on their website and at upcoming public meetings.
The planning commission provided a sprawling list of proposed projects in both the short (2024-28), mid (2029-36) and long (2037-2050) range of time that the region can "reasonably expect to achieve."
The lead for individual projects varies from local municipalities, to Northampton and Lehigh counties, the state transportation commission and PennDOT.
A map has been provided by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, outlining the projects proposed in the planning document, which spans dozens of pages.
The map of proposed projects can be viewed here:
Some significant short-range projects, anticipated to start before 2028 and funded in the region's Transportation Improvement Program, include:
Many bridge rehabilitation or replacement, and pavement resurfacing and rehabilitation, and signaling improvement projects are listed throughout the region in the "short term" range, along with mid and long-range plans.
Also, $50 million is set aside for both Northampton and Lehigh counties throughout the entirety of the plan for funding traffic congestion mitigation and air quality improvement projects.
Rapid transit and rider infrastructure safety improvements for bus routes is set to get $38 million throughout the plan's duration.
Multimodal and alternative transportation got some focus as well, listing many improvements throughout the region for pedestrian and bicycle access improvements.
More than $18 million is set aside throughout the duration of the 25-year plan for various studies on potential future improvements.
About $4.8 million is earmarked for improving safe routes to schools throughout the region.
And $1.23 billion is set aside for Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority transit operating assistance and improvement over the 25-year period, including plans to expand the bus fleet.
In the mid- and long-range projections, notable projects include:
Referencing the more than $5 billion in allocated funds, Bradley said, "It seems like a lot, but it's shockingly not."
She said keeping track of some of those unmet needs, something the planning commission started doing in the previous transportation plan, can prepare them for future shake-ups in available funds.
"What we started to do was say, 'Hey, these other projects could potentially be eligible for state funds come out of the state's pool of funds, could potentially receive federal funds, maybe other grants,'" Bradley said.
Unmet needs listed include roadway improvement projects along many well-traveled routes, including many safety improvements and desired repaving projects, among others.
These unmet needs expend past the plan's 2050 end, and include projects such as:
