Public Announcement-Hill to Hill Bridge Rehabilitation Project

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is currently in the engineering phase of a project that involves the replacement of the Hill to Hill (SR 0378) bridge which intersects the Lehigh River in the City of Bethlehem, Lehigh and Northampton Counties. PennDOT conducted an Alternatives Analysis which evaluated a suite of alternatives and their ability to meet the purpose and need of the project. The chosen alternative (Alternative 3B) consists of rehabilitation and partial widening of the Hill to Hill Bridge. This includes adding a new structure that will be constructed adjacent and parallel to the south end of the existing bridge. The new structure will provide additional width in the form of two northbound travel lanes and a sidewalk. By tapering this new structure back into the existing structure prior to the existing southern truss, both southern and northern trusses can be preserved.
Since the Sand Island Park, Johnston Park, D&L Canal Trail and South Bethlehem Greenway are publically owned and operated, are open and accessible to the public and has a variety of recreational resources, PennDOT is required under Section 4(f) of the USDOT Act of 1966 to minimize those impacts to the park which cannot be avoided. The proposed project will result in temporary impacts to Johnston Park, D&L Canal Trail and South Bethlehem Greenway to provide access during construction. Temporary impacts and a small area of permanent acquisition of an aerial easement is proposed within Sand Island Park for access during construction and to provide for room to conduct future maintenance and inspection of the structure. The proposed impacts will not have a permanent impact on the recreational features of the parks, will be minimized to the extent possible, and will be mitigated by returning those impacted areas to as good as or better than their current condition. PennDOT believes these impacts to be minimal and consistent with the application of a De Minimis Use.