The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced Applebutter Road is now open at its intersection with Shimersville Road. It had been closed since September 16 for rehabilitation work on the Shimersville Road Bridge over Saucon Creek in the City of Bethlehem, Northampton County.

For safety reasons, Applebutter Road was closed and detoured to allow work to occur near the intersection with Shimersville Road. During the closure, Applebutter Road traffic was detoured on PA 412, Cherry Lane, Easton Road and Lower Saucon Road.  

Traffic on the Bridge will remain restricted to one lane in each direction (reduced from two lanes in each direction) for the remainder of the project. 

Work began to rehabilitate the structurally deficient Shimersville Road Bridge on September 8. The project is expected to be complete in September 2012. All schedules are weather dependent.

The bridge rehabilitation project includes concrete deck repairs, a concrete deck overlay, steel beam repairs, resetting of steel bearings, deck joint repairs or replacements, concrete median repairs, drainage improvements, and minor substructure concrete repairs. Additional work includes installing new guiderail and placing rock protection along the north pier and other miscellaneous construction.

J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Pa. is the general contractor on the $1,271,327 project. 

The Bridge is a two-span steel I-beam structure that was constructed in 1968. The bridge is 212 feet long, 64 feet five inches wide with an average daily traffic of 8,096 vehicles.