The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is soliciting public feedback over plans for a replacement and realignment of the South 22nd Street bridge over Quittapahilla Creek in North Cornwall Township.
The replacement of the South 22nd Street bridge had initially been planned for a 2024 start to construction. PennDOT said the project now is proposed to begin in February 2026 and be completed by March 2027. As previously reported by LebTown, funding and rail trail completion had pushed back the timeline.
Read More:
- (January 2021) Phase Six of Lebanon Valley Rail Trail will connect urban to rural, town to country
- (April 2022) S. 22nd Street to be realigned with new bridge over Quittie Creek; $1.3M grant sets stage for phase 6C of LV Rail Trail
- (February 2023) Lebanon Valley Rail Trail breaks ground on Phase 6; city trail and park underway
- (March 2023) PennDOT begins clearing work for Phase 6 of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail
- (February 2024) Funding and rail trail completion push S. 22nd Street bridge project to 2026 start
Township officials have been eyeing the South 22nd Street bridge project for decades.
In 2022, former North Cornwall Township manager Tom Long told LebTown that the bridge, a crossing vulnerable to flooding, had been on their radar for 25 years.
“This is the last area that tends to get blocked up and flood more readily,” he said at the time.
As previously reported by LebTown, the project will see South 22nd Street realigned to run continuously with a true cross intersection at Chestnut Street, rather than the jughandle turn currently in place.
South 22nd Street will keep the existing alignment from Cumberland Street to just past the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club, at which point it will veer right to cross the Quittapahilla Creek in a straight approach to the existing alignment of South 22nd Street., about 150 feet downstream of the current crossing.
The new bridge over the Quittie will be wider than the existing one, with a safer road profile. The bridge will feature a 10-foot, rail-protected pedestrian access as part of Segment 6C of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.
North Cornwall Township previously had agreed to pay for Motorcycle Club improvements including parking spaces, a driveway, and a gate in exchange for the acquisition of a piece of property needed as a right-of-way.
A public plans display meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 1, from 7 to 7:30 p.m. at the township municipal building at 330 S. 18th St., Lebanon. Project information is also available on PennDOT’s website.
PennDOT said that the purpose of the plans display is to introduce the project and receive public input regarding any questions or concerns with the project.
The updated plan largely conforms to the concept design (PDF) presented in 2022.
PennDOT said that the project is also being organized in conjunction with ongoing floodplain restoration on the Quittie, which LebTown has previously reported on.
A unique aspect of the plan is that, due to the realignment, the existing bridge structure will be kept in place during construction of the replacement crossing and remain accessible for pedestrian use.
A vehicle detour will be in place to South 16th Street. PennDOT said the detour clocks in at 1.26 miles.
In addition to the public meeting, PennDOT is also accepting feedback through a form available on its website.
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