Crime & Safety

Police Will Help Direct Traffic on Rt. 412 Starting Monday

Hellertown Police Chief Robert Shupp announced Monday that borough and Bethlehem police officers will help direct traffic during rush hour at intersections near the I-78 interchange beginning Oct. 14.

Hellertown Police Chief Robert Shupp said Monday that beginning Monday, Oct. 14, borough and Bethlehem police officers will help direct traffic during peak rush hour periods, Monday through Friday, at intersections near the Route 412 interchange at Interstate 78.

The high-traffic area has become more congested due to an ongoing, three-year Route 412 construction project that involves widening the state road both north and south of the interstate.

Shupp said PennDOT—which is in charge of the Route 412 project—recently budgeted money for a Bethlehem police officer to be stationed at Silvex Road and Route 412 and a Hellertown police officer to be at Route 412 and Kichline Avenue.

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He said he has also asked that PennDOT to pay for a second Hellertown police officer to be at Cherry Lane and Route 412, which is one block south of the Kichline Avenue intersection. 

Shupp said he and a representative from the Bethlehem Police Department would be meeting with the general contractor for the Route 412 project—HRI Inc.—and PennDOT officials this week "to conduct some trial times" at the intersections.

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He also asked for the public's patience as officers become familiar with the way traffic flows through the area.

“We’re going to be learning these light cycles just like everybody else,” he said.

Shupp added that the City of Bethlehem is going to supply some old phone booths that can be connected to heaters,so police officers stationed at the intersections during the winter months can stay warm.

“We definitely think it will get traffic moving, which is good,” he said of the plan.


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