State Route 72 paving project comes in under bid, work to begin in spring 2026

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Resurfacing of an 8-mile section of state Route 72 from the Lebanon County line to Rocherty Road running through Cornwall Borough and North and West Cornwall townships will begin in next spring.

The $7 million contract awarded to Pennsy Supply Inc. came in about $1.5 million under the original cost estimate, PennDOT District 8 spokesperson Dave Thompson said in an email.

PennDOT staff shared the news with members of the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Committee at a recent meeting.

Besides resurfacing, the project includes drainage improvements and updates to guardrails, signing, and pavement markings. Also to be added is a southbound right-turn lane into Gretna Springs, West Cornwall Township, Thompson said.

“The contractor may start some drainage work this year,” he said in an email. Should that occur, PennDOT will issue a press release to inform drivers.

MPO members also learned that new transportation projects are basically on hold until the federal government passes a transportation bill. The current bill expires in December 2026.

Read More: PennDOT District 8 tells local planners: No new projects until next transport bill

“We are continuing with projects in the pipeline, but until the funding frees up, there will be no projects going forward to start design,” Carey Mullins, District 8 transportation planning and program manager, told MPO members. “There’s a lot of uncertainty with the transportation bill.”

Once the funding picture becomes clear, PennDOT and the MPO can advance projects on the county’s transportation improvement program, he added.

Read More: Long-Range Transportation Plan approved by county planning board

Among projects in the pipeline are reconstruction of Lingle Avenue in Palmyra Borough and North and South Londonderry townships; safety improvements at state Route 501 and Reistville Road in Jackson and Heidelberg townships; and intersection improvements on Route 72 at Summit and York streets.

Read More: PennDOT project to address flooding on Lingle Ave. estimated for 2028 season

A study of the Route 72 and Cornwall Road corridor kicked off on June 30, said Jon Fitzkee, senior transportation planner with the county, at the meeting. PennDOT provided $300,000 for the study that will identify and guide recommendations for corridor improvements, Fitzkee said.

Not included in that study is the intersection of Route 419 and Boyd Street in Cornwall.

“We select a lot of our projects based on safety, and that one is not on the district’s radar as a safety issue,” Fitzkee said in response to a question about that intersection. Still, the MPO is actively working with District 9 to identify funds for improvements to intersections like that one, he added.

In other business, the board:

• Re-elected Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello as chairwoman and elected Commissioner Mike Kuhn as vice chairman and Karen Groh, CEO of Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, as secretary.
• Reaffirmed the MPO’s participation in the Eastern PA Freight Alliance, a regional initiative with neighboring counties focused on transportation needs related to development of warehouses.
• Was thanked by Tom Kotay, Lebanon Valley Rail Trail, for funding and ongoing support of improvements. PennDOT has provided about $11 million for improvements, Kotay said. He also updated the board about a proposed ordinance to help with enforcing “the rules of the road” and issues related to unleashed dogs and e-bikes. That ordinance has been forwarded to municipalities for review and comment, he said.

The next meeting of the county MPO Policy Board is at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 18, in Room 207, Lebanon Municipal Building, 400 S. 8^th St., and is open to the public.

Read More: Lebanon County gaining traction as key freight corridor for movement of goods