A bridge for Route 222 over Krocks Road? Idea pitched to protect pedestrians at busy Hamilton Crossings intersection

Traffic passes Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, through the intersection of Route 222 and Krocks Road in Lower Macungie Township by Hamilton Crossings.

The idea of turning the intersection of the Route 222 bypass and Krocks Road in Lower Macungie Township into an on-and-off ramp interchange has been around for several years.

A bridge carrying Route 222 over Krocks Road next to the Hamilton Crossings shopping center, and eliminating the need for an intersection with traffic lights, was discussed at Tuesday’s Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Comprehensive Planning Committee meeting.

The concept was dusted off during a discussion about a proposed mixed-use development, dubbed the Shoppes at Hamilton, at the northeast corner of the intersection. The plans include 19,800 square feet of retail, 318 apartments and an 88,000-square-foot hotel at 617 N. Krocks Road.

In a draft letter to Lower Macungie Director of Planning/Community Development Nathan Jones, LVPC planners had suggestions for a variety of issues, including pedestrian safety, related to the proposed development across Route 222 from Hamilton Crossings.

There is a crosswalk across the bypass that crosses two slip ramps and seven lanes of traffic. Residents and guests at the complex would have to cross that to access Hamilton Crossings or LANTA bus stops at the shopping center.

Committee member Steve Repasch, who is also executive director of the Bethlehem Authority, asked about the possibility of building a pedestrian bridge.

Bambi Griffin Rivera, LVPC community and regional planner, said the subject was discussed with Lehigh Valley Transportation Study officials and the commission plans to follow up with PennDOT.

“When Hamilton Crossings was built, PennDOT had required that a grade-separated interchange [when a local road crosses over or under the highway and ramps are used to enter or exit the highway] actually be built there at 222,” Griffin Rivera said.

She added that the requirement was paused and would be brought back up when the other side of the bypass was developed.

Committee Chair Stephen Melnick wanted language about building an interchange added to the letter so “it doesn’t get lost in the weeds.”

LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said the interchange would probably be a requirement since traffic counts have gone up since the bypass fully opened in 2007. Current PennDOT traffic counts have an average of 35,000 vehicles using the road per day.

She noted that the intersection in Upper Macungie near Air Products’ new headquarters — with Mill Creek, Grange and Cetronia roads — is a separated-grade interchange, so one at Krocks Road will have to be built.

Bradley also gave a little history on the intersection after committee member Bob Elbich, a Lehigh County commissioner, wanted to know if the project was in any transportation improvement program plans.

“When they were planning Route 222, it was supposed to be a grade-separated interchange at the time,” Bradley said. “This was a time before Lower Macungie was the Lower Macungie we know today, and Upper Macungie and South Whitehall weren’t as built up as they are now.

“At the time the supervisors in Lower Macungie, our records show, had said that they wanted it to be a traffic light because they didn’t believe that they would ever have the growth that they’ve experienced. And that if they did experience the growth that they experienced, that would be a different conversation at some point in the future.”

Plans for building the bypass around Trexlertown go back to the 1980s. When Hamilton Crossings was being constructed in 2015, Lower Macungie officials and citizens petitioned for the improved intersection at Krocks Road to be included in the LVTS’s Long-Range Transportation Plan. Then, it was estimated to cost $30 million to build.

Bradley said it would be up to the developers to address any improvements.

“Because this is private sector driven, it needs to be addressed by the private sector,” Bradley said. “The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, when Hamilton Crossings was built, said the same.”

Other issues brought up were potential backups from funeral processions at neighboring Resurrection Cemetery and emergency access to the development.

The letter will be presented to the full LVPC during Thursday’s meeting. That meeting will be held virtually at 7 p.m.

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected].

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