Study will focus on improving Freemansburg Avenue, Farmersville Road intersection

A dangerous Bethlehem Township intersection will be getting a closer look by township engineers in the hopes of a complete overhaul with signals and safety improvements.Bethlehem Township supervisors Monday night approved the Pidcock Co. to perform a study at the Freemansburg Avenue and Farmersville Road intersection to explore the scope of the project and its potential costs.“We’re looking to put realistic ideas on paper as far as scope is concerned and then we need to identify costs,” Pidcock Co. engineer Brian Dillman said at Monday’s meeting. “What we want is a cross intersection that’s signalized. We just don’t know how exactly we get there.”Bethlehem Township picks nine traffic projects it hopes can be done in the next decadeThe study will cost $100,000 to $120,000, Dillman said. The price will be covered by the township’s Act 209 funds, developer fees paid to municipalities for just this kind of community improvement.Dillman wouldn’t hazard a guess at the total cost to rework the intersection because there are so many unknowns. Among those is the possibility that the township would need to acquire land to accommodate a redesign.Supervisor Chairman Michael Hudak said improvements there are long overdue.“I’ve seen way too many accidents there,” Hudak said. “It’s about time.”Dillman said the intersection work is part of a wider effort to examine trouble spots cropping up as development pumps more vehicles onto township roads.“This was one of the low-hanging fruits,” Dillman said.If all goes according to plan, Dillman said, the township could hope to see construction start at the intersection in the next year or two.Morning Call reporter Sarah M. Wojcik can be reached at 610-778-2283 or swojcik@mcall.com.
Source: Morningcall