A busy North Cornwall intersection that serves as a key connector between several rapidly developing areas south of Lebanon City is about to undergo a major reconstruction.

Actually two intersections a few hundred feet apart, Cornwall Road (SR-2001), Wilhelm Avenue, and York Street come together to form a dogleg that is heavily used by motorists traveling to and from the city, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Lebanon Plaza Mall, the Lebanon Expo Center, SR 72, a major healthcare complex, and the currently expanding Lebanon High School campus.

The roughly $1.83 million project overseen by PennDOT will result in a single 90-degree intersection controlled by a traffic light.

Planning for the project began in 2016.

According to Jonathan Fitzkee of the Lebanon County Planning Department, keeping but modernizing the two existing intersections that create the dogleg would have cost at least $2.4 million in 2016.

PennDOT said the work should start this month and be completed by September 2024. The lead contractor on the project is H&K Group of Skippack, Montgomery County.

To clear the way for a new section of Wilhelm Avenue, Lebanon County used $165,500 of Liquid Fuels Tax funds from the state to buy the land and residence at 1320 Cornwall Road, which will be demolished.

Looking north. The residence at 1320 Cornwall Road will be demolished to allow a new section of Wilhelm Avenue to intersect Cornwall Road. The house in the background at 1300 Cornwall Road will remain.

Beyond simply moving a section of Wilhelm Avenue roadway, the project will upgrade drainage and lighting and add sidewalks and ADA-compliant curb ramps.

Utility relocations will precede the start of construction.

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Chris Coyle writes primarily on government, the courts, and business. He retired as an attorney at the end of 2018, after concentrating for nearly four decades on civil and criminal litigation and trials. A career highlight was successfully defending a retired Pennsylvania state trooper who was accused,...

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