PennDOT: Applebutter Road Has Reopened

A heavily used two-lane road in Bethlehem and Lower Saucon Township has reopened as of Tuesday, Nov. 1, PennDOT announced in a statement yesterday.

, as work began on a year-long project that will rehabilitate the crumbling Shimersville Road bridge near the Bethlehem Wastewater Treatment plant.

The western entrance to Applebutter--at its intersection with Shimersville--had to be closed for work on Phase One of the project to proceed.

At the time of the closure, of PennDOT's failure to relay both a timeline and potential impacts from the project with them. Officials with , which is located on Applebutter Road in Lower Saucon, also questioned the state agency's lack of communication at a special meeting that was held at .

In an Oct. 27 update posted on the Borough of Hellertown's website, PennDOT announced that Phase One repairs to the Shimersville Road bridge's deck were completed ahead of schedule, even though the amount of work that needed to be done turned out to be "significantly greater than the pre construction estimate."

"PennDOT and the contractor increased work hours to offset the extra time required to make these repairs," the update stated.

The increased work hours allowed Applebutter Road to be reopened three weeks ahead of schedule and came at an addtional cost to PennDOT, it also indicated.

The contractor for the bridge replacement project is J.D. Eckman, Inc., of Atglen, Pa., and the total cost for the project is estimated at more than $1.2 million.

The 212-foot bridge that is being rehabilitated was built in 1968 and carries an average of more than 8,000 vehicles per day.

"Work on the remaining portion of the northbound deck will continue through the winter months," PennDOT said in its Oct. 27 update. "Traffic will remain in a single lane configuration on the southbound lanes."