Federal Highway Administration bridges funding gap for 22nd St., rail trail project

A federal allocation of $2.5 million has closed the funding gap for the proposed project to build a new bridge over the Quittapahilla Creek at South 22nd Street and extend the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail to the Lebanon Valley Mall entrance.

The Lebanon County Planning Office received word recently of the award from Federal PROTECT Funding, a federal highway program aimed at improving reliability of transportation infrastructure. Replacement of the existing bridge at South 22nd Street has been a priority for years as it is vulnerable to flooding during heavy rain events.

While the recently completed flood plain restoration has reduced bridge closures due to high waters, it still is closed a couple of times a year, said North Cornwall Township manager Justin Thompson.

Besides the new bridge, South 22nd Street will be realigned to cross Chestnut Street and create a true intersection, rather than requiring the current jog to stay on South 22nd.

By adding another 0.2 miles to the rail trail, the project will advance the county’s long-range goal of a continuous trail from the Lancaster County line to where it joins the Swatara State Park trailhead near the Inwood Iron Bridge.

“This project has been 8 to 10 years in the planning,” said Jon Fitzkee, the county’s senior transportation planner. “The hurdle was funding, but many different entities were involved, and we were all pulling in the same direction.”

Besides the federal funding, the county has secured $1.3 million from PennDOT, $1 million from the county, $200,000 from North Cornwall Township – which owns the existing bridge and will own the new one – and $25,000 from the rail trail. Total project funding is $5,025,000, slightly more than current construction estimates. Construction of the bridge alone is estimated at about $2.1 million.

“Let’s hope the construction numbers stay the same,” said Fitzkee, noting that three years ago the project had an estimated price tag of $3.6 million.

The goal is to bid the project before the end of 2025 with construction completed or close to completion in 2026, Fitzkee added.

At 42 feet, the new bridge will be wider than the old one as it will include a 10-foot shoulder for the trail. The new one also will be longer — 116 feet, which should make the bridge approaches less vulnerable to flooding, Fitzkee said.

“Everything will flow better as far as traffic,” Thompson said. “This will definitely be a safety benefit for pedestrians as well.”

With the additional 0.2 miles, almost all of phase 6 of the rail trail will be complete. The only remaining portion is the section that will run along the Lebanon Valley Mall property. Then the trail will connect with phase 7 along the southern edge of the Union Canal Tunnel Park.

That will leave phase 8 between Long Lane and New Bunkerhill Road. No route has yet been identified for this phase, Fitzkee said.

“So many stakeholders collaborated to make this project a success,” Fitzkee said. “Having input from all of those stakeholders including Lebanon Transit, City of Lebanon Authority and the township and county helped with this improvement that will solve a lot of issues that have long existed at this location.”