updated April 19, 2013

Lane restrictions and traffic stoppages that were planned for tonight in the area of the interchange of US 22 with PA 145/MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County has been moved due to potential inclement weather. The traffic restrictions will now occur this Saturday night (April 20), weather permitting. The restrictions are necessary to allow workers to safely set beams for the new PA 145/MacArthur Road Bridge over US 22.

Beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday night, a lane will be restricted on PA 145/MacArthur Road south between Grape Street and Fairmont Avenue and a lane will be restricted on US 22 east and west between Fullerton Avenue and 15th Street. These restrictions are expected to be in place until 6 a.m. Sunday morning. In addition, there will be several brief traffic stoppages on US 22 east and west during the same hours. Motorists should expect delays and use caution driving through the work zones.

A project began in May 2012 on the US 22/PA 145 Interchange Project that involves the reconstruction of PA 145/MacArthur Road in the area of the interchange, replacing the PA 145/MacArthur Road Bridge over US 22, and construction of new interchange ramps.

The interchange is being reconfigured to eliminate the current merging movements on the US 22 on/off ramps by replacing the cloverleaf interchange with a diamond interchange. Other improvements include new traffic signals on PA 145/MacArthur Road at the interchange ramps and constructing a wider and taller PA 145/MacArthur Road Bridge over US 22. The project is expected to be complete in December.

The project is designed to improve traffic flow for the 87,000 vehicles travelling US 22 and the 38,000 vehicles travelling PA 145/MacArthur Road each day.

This is a design/build project, which means the contractor, HRI, Inc. of State College, Pa., is responsible for the final design and construction on the $13.8 million project.

In an effort to keep the public informed, PennDOT created a website for this PA 145/US 22 Interchange Improvement Project. The website can be viewed at www.145-22int.com<http://www.145-22int.com>. The website contains information on the status of the project, feeds from US 22 traffic cameras near the interchange, and allows for the public to sign up for email updates. Everyone is encouraged to visit the website for the latest information about the project.

Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAAllentown<http://www.twitter.com/511PAAllentown>.