This 2012 photo shows the eastbound Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) at the PA 309 interchange in Allentown. The 1970s-era button copy signs were replaced after this photo was taken. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

Length:
Constructed:

22.2 miles (35.7 kilometers)
1951-1954

A MODERN LEHIGH VALLEY BYPASS: As early as 1927, local leaders in Lehigh and Northampton Counties advocated for a "super speed highway" bypassing the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton to the north of the respective downtowns. At the time, US 22 - then called "William Penn Highway" - traversed Allentown on Hamilton Street, Bethlehem on Broad Street, and Easton on Northampton Street. By the early 1930s, average daily traffic (AADT) had approached 1,500 vehicles per day on typical urban sections, prompting concerns among local officials that the existing US 22 soon would exceed capacity.

The original plan, which was announced in 1931, called for the construction of a 24.5-mile (39.4-kilometer)-long route from the Delaware River at Easton, where a new bridge was proposed, west to PA 100 in Fogelsville. The plan called for two controlled-access express highways flanked by two separate roadways, or service roads, for local traffic to serve nearby businesses. Some larger business owners not only petitioned the state to add the proposed highway to the state highway plan, but also donated land for the new road. According to The Morning Call, the proposed US 22 bypass did not have a cost estimate.

A prewar rerouting of US 22 - along Tilghman Street in Allentown; Union Boulevard and Easton Avenue in Bethlehem; and William Penn Highway in Easton - provided modest relief. However, even these routes were soon overwhelmed.

A NEW BRIDGE TO NEW JERSEY: Work began in 1936 on the Bushkill Street Bridge between Easton and Philipsburg, New Jersey. The 1,020-foot (366-meter)-long bridge was built with a 540-foot (165-meter)-long petit (Pennsylvania-style) truss main span across the Delaware River, a 430-foot (131-meter)-long, five-span plate-girder viaduct at the New Jersey approach; and a 40-foot (12-meter)-long, prestressed concrete box beam span over PA 611 on the Pennsylvania approach. After about a year and a half of construction, the Bushkill Street Bridge was opened to traffic on January 14, 1938. The bridge, which upon the opening of the Lehigh Valley Thruway in the 1950s became known as the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge, was the first span built under the jurisdiction of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC).

DELAYED BY WAR, THEN APPROVED BY THE FEDS: Plans for an improved Harrisburg-to-Lehigh Valley highway were revived after World War II, when the state employed surveyors to help plan a relocation of US 22. These plans received a further boost in 1947, when a route between New York City and Harrisburg was included in the first Interstate highway map devised by the Federal Works Agency and the US Bureau of Public Roads. The original 33,700-mile (54,200-kilometer) highway network - which was selected in conjunction with the 48 states - did not have any funding mechanism in place, and for this reason, little progress was made nationwide.

Nevertheless, the Pennsylvania Department of Highways deemed it a priority to build a high-speed link for US 22 between the Harrisburg area and the Delaware River, anticipating the need for an Interstate highway link. In 1949, the Federal government approved the rerouting of US 22 north of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area. The proposed route would bypass 31 traffic lights and reduce the trip from Allentown to the Delaware River by 40 minutes. However, as the 1950s began, the state had yet to begin building the bypass.

THE BYPASS FINALLY GETS BUILT: Construction of the Lehigh Valley Thruway began in 1951, nearly a quarter century after it was first proposed. The route was designed with four express lanes, two in each direction, but the continuous service roads were dropped from the final design. Except for the section from 25th Street in Easton east to the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge, where dangerous curves dictated a 35 MPH speed limit, the design speed limit for the thruway was 60 MPH.

On December 1, 1953, the first section of the Lehigh Valley Thruway, from PA 100 in Fogelsville (current EXIT 49 on I-78) east to PA 145 (MacArthur Road / North 7 Street) in Whitehall Township, was opened to traffic. This was followed by the completion in early 1954 of the section from PA 145 east to PA 987 near the Allentown-Bethlehem border and Lehigh Valley International Airport. On September 21, 1954, the final section of the thruway connecting PA 987 with the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge was opened to traffic.

This 1954 photo shows the Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) looking east at the PA 145 (7th Street) interchange in Whitehall Township. The interchange was rebuilt in the early 2010s. (File photo from WFMZ-TV.)

"It is generally acknowledged that the (Lehigh Valley) Thruway has not sufficient lanes to properly handle present traffic at rush hours. Plans are being considered to reroute the highway from New Jersey across the Delaware into the Saucon Valley, and continue west to the south of Bethlehem and Allentown to somewhere near New Smithville. But all this is probably 10 years away." - Fred McCready, commenting on the Lehigh Valley Thruway in a 1963 Sunday Call-Chronicle article

INADEQUATE AS SOON AS IT WAS BUILT: By 1958, the Lehigh Valley Thruway received a new designation - Interstate 78 - in addition to US 22. The new I-78 applied to the upgraded US 22 from Berks County east to the 25th Street interchange in Easton, at which point I-78 would be carried east towards Phillipsburg, New Jersey on a new Delaware River span.

However, the Lehigh Valley Thruway was designed and built several years prior to the passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956. This meant the thruway lacked adequate shoulders and acceleration-deceleration lanes. These sections also had poor sight distances, lower-than-accepted bridge clearances, higher-than-accepted grades, and a low median barrier (typically only a raised curb, or later a steel guiderail) separating opposing roadways.

MOVING I-78 OFF THE THRUWAY: As early as 1960, planners sought a bypass for existing US 22 along the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton axis. The report prepared for the Easton Area Regional Planning Commission envisioned a new US 22 bypass extending from just west of Allentown, continuing south of the current US 22 alignment, and  crossing into New Jersey from Raubsville (about two miles, or three kilometers south of the current I-78 Toll Bridge). It was designed to relieve congestion along the Lehigh Valley Thruway, which carried both local and long-distance traffic.

The proposal gained momentum in 1963, when the Joint Planning Commission of Lehigh and Northampton Counties submitted a proposed bypass to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways. This was the first mention of an I-78 designation for the bypass, implying that the bypass would be eligible for 90% Federal funding. Unlike later proposals, this early I-78 alignment tracked closer to the south side of the Lehigh River shoreline, and was on the north side of South Mountain. Later proposals pushed I-78 to the south side of South Mountain.

The joint committee proposal was the first time that I-78 was proposed along an existing section of the PA 309 Bypass. Planning for the PA 309 Bypass began in the early 1950s, but work did not begin until early 1956. By the fall of 1958, the state opened a 7.8-mile (12.6-kilometer) section from PA 145 in Upper Saucon Township to just north of the Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) in South Whitehall Township. Under the joint commission I-78 was to use all but 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers) of the PA 309 Bypass.

As the 1960s progressed, the joint committee proposal - which became known as the "Southern Corridor" - was among four I-78 alignments being studied by the state. The three other proposals were as follows:

  • The second proposal, which would have used the US 22 alignment in its entirety though the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area into Phillipsburg, New Jersey, had the disadvantages of 1) inadequate design on the Pennsylvania section, particularly in Easton; 2) the presence of Easton Cemetery, a historic property dating to 1849 that precluded widening and/or realignment; and 3) intense opposition in New Jersey, where community leaders feared a widened I-78 along the existing US 22 alignment would split Phillipsburg in two.

  • The third proposal had I-78 continue along US 22 east towards the 25th Street interchange in Easton, where I-78 would split from US 22 onto a new southeasterly alignment through developed sections of Easton towards the current I-78 alignment at EXIT 75 (PA 611). For this alternative, the presence of Hay's Cemetery, a historic cemetery dating to 1760 along this alignment, prevented the freeway's construction.

  • The fourth proposal had I-78 continue east towards the current PA 33 Expressway (which itself was not completed until 2002), then travel south towards the current I-78 alignment, where I-78 would continue east towards Pennsylvania. The Saucon Association for a Viable Environment (SAVE) favored the proposal as it would being built through Bethlehem's Saucon Park while avoiding developed areas in Bethlehem and Easton.

Officials felt the urge to act promptly because the states not only faced a 1972 deadline for getting I-78 built with Federal funds, but also had to determine the routing of key spur routes already approved: I-178 (Allentown Spur Route, never built) and I-378 (Bethlehem Spur Route, now PA 378). Meanwhile, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) agreed to demands from Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials to build and open the new I-78 Delaware River bridge first and discuss tolling later. Even these demands did not accelerate construction of the missing link of I-78.

These 2023 photos show the westbound Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) just west of the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge in Easton. The antiquated design of the roadway, as evidenced by the sharp curves, lack of shoulders, and 35 MPH speed limit, along with stiff opposition across the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, prompted a shift in the I-78 alignment south of the developed Allentown-to-Phillipsburg corridor. (Photos by David Golub, www.eastcoastroads.com.)

This 2023 photo shows the westbound Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) in Bethlehem Township. Work is underway to replace this early 1950s-era overpass. (Photo by David Golub, www.eastcoastroads.com.)

RENEWING 22 AFTER YEARS OF BENIGN NEGLECT: As PennDOT focused attention on planning and completing I-78 around the Lehigh Valley in the 1970s and 1980s, congestion continued to build on US 22 while much-needed rehabilitation was delayed, save for an 1970s reconstruction of the PA 987 (Airport Road) interchange to accommodate expansion at Lehigh Valley International Airport, as well as a minor rehabilitation project from Cedar Crest Bouelvard east to 15th Street in South Whitehall Township in the 1980s.

Although traffic counts declined 20% in 1990 (the first full year that the I-78 bypass south of the Lehigh Valley was open) from 1989 levels, congestion returned to US 22. By the 1990s, the busiest sections saw average annual daily traffic (AADT) counts of 85,000, making the Lehigh Valley Thruway the fourth-busiest highway in Pennsylvania.

In 1997, PennDOT began its first major reconstruction of US 22 in the Lehigh Valley in decades. The project, called "Route 22 / Renew," entailed a significant reconstruction on an eight-mile (13-kilometer) stretch of US 22 from the Lehigh Valley Bridge in Allentown east to PA 191 in Bethlehem Township. The project had the following objectives:

  • Rebuilding the interchange between US 22, PA 378 (Bethlehem Spur Route), and Schoenersville Road, including new bridges for PA 378 and Schoenersville Road over US 22, as well as a new eastbound collector-distributor (C/D) road to separate express and local traffic flows through the interchange.

  • Repairing expansion joints on the Lehigh Valley Bridge over the Lehigh River.

  • Repairing the PA 987 (Airport Road) bridge over US 22.

  • Rehabilitating pavement on the mainline US 22.

  • Building a high concrete ("Jersey") barrier along the median, as well as along the eastbound express and local roadways at the PA 378 / Schoenersville Road interchange.

The $70 million project was completed in 1999. PennDOT maintained four lanes of traffic throughout the construction period (except for some overnights). The following year, PennDOT implemented a new $11 million intelligent transportation system on US 22, which included new variable message signs.

From 2012 to 2014, PennDOT rebuilt the interchange between US 22 and PA 145 (MacArthur Road / 7th Street) in South Whitehall Township. PennDOT removed replaced a traditional cloverleaf with tight ramps with a six-ramp partial-cloverleaf design to better handle traffic generated by nearby Lehigh Valley Mall. It also replaced the existing PA 145 bridge over US 22 with a wider overpass for PA 145 traffic, and higher vertical clearance for US 22 traffic.

In 2022, PennDOT completed a two-year, $17 million project to rehabilitate US 22 from the I-78 / US 22 split in Upper Macungie Township east to 15th Street in South Whitehall Township. More recently, PennDOT has invested $9 million to replace two bridges over US 22 (at Hecktown Road and Farmersville Road) in Bethlehem Township.

WIDENING WOES: As early as 2004, PennDOT initiated plans to study the widening of US 22 from the I-78 / US 22 split in Upper Macungie Township east to the US 22 / PA 33 interchange in Bethlehem Township. With AADT counts approaching 100,000 on the busiest sections, particularly between PA 145 and PA 378, local officials pressed PennDOT for a prompt widening of US 22 to six lanes, from four, and even pressed for an Interstate designation for this section of US 22. (Presumably, the Interstate designation could be routed along PA 33 from US 22 south to I-78 to create a loop route.)

In 2019, PennDOT dashed immediate plans for widening, whose projected construction cost exceeded $250 million. However, the agency did not rule out US 22 widening in a future statewide transportation improvement plan (TIP).

This 2012 photo shows the westbound Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) at the PA 378 (Bethlehem Spur Route) interchange in Bethlehem. Reconstruction during the "22 Renew" project in the late 1990s added collector-distributor (C/D) roads for the adjacent PA 378 (Bethlehem Spur Route) and Schoenersville Road interchanges. PA 378 was built as I-378 in 1967 when the Lehigh Valley Thruway was expected to carry the I-78 designation. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

While widening should be implemented for both I-78 and US 22 through the Lehigh Valley, US 22 should get priority for widening from the I-78 / US 22 split east to the PA 33 Expressway, given the higher average traffic counts for US 22. Interchange improvements also should be made as necessary in conjunction with the widening.

SOURCES: "Super Speed Highway Project and New Lehigh Valley Bridge Gets Support of Entire Valley," The Morning Call (5/03/1931); "William Penn Highway Route Is Sustained," The Morning Call (2/26/1932); "Survey of Route 22 Change To Start Soon," The Morning Call (8/03/1946); "State To Resurface and Widen Route 22, Bethlehem to Easton," The Morning Call (3/20/1947); "State Highway Department  Officials Cite Need for Funds To Improve Roads," The Morning Call (5/12/1948); "Engineer, Councilmen To Air 309 Plans," The Morning Call (5/23/1953); "Four-Lane Highway Opened Linking Route 309 at Walberts to Bypass at Crackersport," The Morning Call (11/17/1953); "Sumner Avenue Bridge To Be Repaved Before Route 22 Bypass Opening," The Morning Call (11/17/1953); "60 MPH on Thruway? Wait Until Tuesday," The Morning Call (9/20/1954); "Easton Development Keyed to Planning, Civic Action, "The Morning Call (1/20/1960); "The Thruway: 4-Lane Thruway with 8-Lane Traffic" by Fred McCready," The Sunday Call-Chronicle (9/29/1963); "3-City Bypass May Parallel River, Rails" by Phil H. Storch, The Morning Call (11/15/1963); "State Expected To Act Soon on Shifting Route 78" by Phil H. Storch, The Morning Call (12/19/1963); "Interstate 78 to South Preferred by Bethlehem," The Morning Call (2/13/1964); "2-County Planners Give Priority to Spur Routes," The Morning Call (10/22/1964); "Bridge Toll Issue Shelved To Rush Interstate 78," The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/19/1965); "Agency Clears Study on Thruway Upgrading," The Morning Call (11/12/1966); "Turnout Too Large, I-78 Hearing Postponed" by Phil H. Storch, The Morning Call (04/18/1968); "Thruway Upgrading Urged as I-78 Alternate Plan" by Vince Zaffiro, The Morning Call (6/20/1970); "The Long and Grinding Road: Rebuilding Route 22" by Christian D. Berg," The Morning Call (3/15/1998); "PennDOT Toots Its Own Horn on Success of Route 22 Renew" by Christian D. Berg, The Morning Call (12/12/1998); "Route 22 Project Teaches Valuable Lessons" by Matt Assad, The Morning Call (12/03/1999); "Route 22: Fifty Years, One Billion Cars" by Matt Assad, The Morning Call (9/19/2004); "PennDOT Plans To Overhaul Route 22, 145 Interchange," WFMZ-TV (3/27/2012); "There's Only So Much Money: Route 22 Widening on Hold Under Latest Priorities List" by Sarah Cassi, The Express-Times (12/04/2019); "2-Year Construction Project To Begin on Route 22," WFMZ-TV (8/12/2020); "Route 22 Widening, Decades in the Making, No Longer Affordable; What Happened and What's Next" by Sarah Cassi, The Express-Times (11/08/2021); "These Lehigh Valley Road Projects Are Planned for 2026, Plus What's Ongoing for 2025" by Evan Jones, The Morning Call (12/08/2025); Alfred Benesch & Company; CDR Maguire Engineering; Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission; HistoricAerials.com; Jeff Kitsko.

  • US 22 shield by Steve Anderson.
  • I-78 shield by Ralph Herman.
  • Lightposts by Millerbernd Manufacturing Company.
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INTERSTATE 78-PENNSYLVANIA LINKS:

LEHIGH VALLEY THRUWAY CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS:

LEHIGH VALLEY THRUWAY VIDEO LINKS:

THE EXITS OF METRO PHILADELPHIA:

  • Lehigh Valley Thruway (US 22) exit list by Steve Anderson.

  • Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (US 22)

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