Traffic is stopped by a flagger on Easton Road in Lower Saucon Township for drainage work related to a pipe replacement project in the area of the I-78 overpass, near Countryside Lane. The project will result in a road closure and detour from June 12 to July 24, officials say.
If you’ve been held up recently by a pipe replacement project that is ongoing along Easton Road near the I-78 overpass in Lower Saucon Township, be prepared for further delays due to a detour this summer.
Township officials announced this week that the road will be closed to traffic in the area of Countryside Lane from Wednesday, June 12 through Wednesday, July 24.
A 7.5-mile detour around the closure will utilize Lower Saucon Road, Applebutter Road, Shimersville Road, Rt. 412 (Hellertown Road) and Cherry Lane.
The project is under way because of the failure of a pipe under Easton Road that conveys the Unnamed Tributary to the East Branch of the Saucon Creek in that area, a project engineer said.
The proposed replacement pipe is a 72-inch reinforced concrete pipe, said Frank Summa, PE, of GPI in Scranton.
“The project also includes minimal roadway reconstruction adjacent to the necessary pipe excavation,” Summa said.
Preliminary work related to the project has recently resulted in intermittent lane closures in the area of the overpass.
Signs advertising the upcoming detour are to be posted in the area of the upcoming road closure two weeks beforehand, according to a PennDOT traffic control plan the township shared earlier this week.
On the other side of Hellertown, there will be a different detour in place as a result of the Water Street Bridge replacement project that will be taking place around the same time.
The bridge is scheduled to be closed for the two-month replacement project immediately after the Independence Day holiday.
A traffic control plan outlining the detour that will be in place for the bridge closure has not yet been shared by local officials, but the route(s) will likely include Meadows Road, Skibo Road and Walnut Street to the south and/or Mountain Drive South, College Drive and Silvex Road to the north.
This map of the detour around the road closure is part of the Traffic Control Plan for the pipe replacement project.