Saucon Source (https://sauconsource.com/tag/penndot/)
A truck driver pulling a Walmart trailer got more than he bargained for Tuesday afternoon, as he attempted to make a right turn from Ringhoffer Road onto Easton Road in Lower Saucon Township, striking the bridge that spans a branch of the Saucon Creek at that intersection.
The detour now in place around the $3.8 million Water Street Bridge replacement project in Hellertown means more traffic than normal is accessing Main Street via Walnut Street.
Motorists in Lower Saucon Township should expect to encounter delays this week and into September for a seven-week PennDOT paving project on Black River Road between Rt. 378 and Bingen Road.
Although it’s the weekend, PennDOT and Kriger Construction employees have been busy at the site of Hellertown’s Water Street Bridge, which will close for the construction of a replacement span on Monday, July 29.
You may have seen large orange signs posted about it recently. The Water Street Bridge in Hellertown will be closed to traffic on Monday, July 29, so a replacement span can be built. Before that happens, here are some answers to commonly asked questions about the bridge project.
Borough council members said Monday they are concerned that the additional traffic traveling to and from Saucon Valley schools will worsen congestion at the Walnut and Main intersection betweeen Aug. 26–when the new school year begins–and the completion of the new bridge.
A small section of roadway that is used by some drivers as part of a short cut between Hellertown and Springtown will become a one-way street next week, according to yellow advisory signs posted along it.
The start of the two-month Water Street Bridge closure has been delayed again–until Monday, July 29–according to PennDOT and project contractor Kriger Construction, who announced the postponement Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Hellertown borough officials announced the detour routes that will be in place once the Water Street Bridge is closed, so a replacement span can be built.
The aged and crumbling Water Street Bridge is in its final days as a work of engineering that still fulfills a vital purpose: namely, transporting thousands of vehicles daily across the Saucon Creek, between Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township.
