ALLENTOWN – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced lane restrictions that reconvened March 22 on the Interstate 78 construction project in Hamburg Borough and Tilden and Windsor townships, Berks County, will be in place over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
There will be delays for motorists on I-78 during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Motorists are advised to allow themselves extra time to travel through the work zone, or seek alternate routes.
The 24-hour, single lane conditions will be in place both eastbound and westbound between the PA 61 Interchange (exit 29) to approximately 2.9 miles east of the Hamburg Interchange (exit 30) until June 22. Also, wide loads over 10 feet will be restricted between exits 29 and 35.
All work schedules are weather dependent.
Motorists may experience significant delays Friday, Sunday and Monday afternoons/early evenings, and also Saturdays during daylight hours.
All lanes on I-78 will be open during the summer travel months, from June 22 until Sept. 4.
PennDOT reminds motorists to check the project traffic conditions Web site, for current traffic speeds. The Web site has interactive icons to show the user the exact messages currently displayed on the project’s 10 changeable message boards. It also has traffic display icons depicting the current flow of traffic in the work zone (green icons mean no delays, yellow icons mean slight delays, and red icons mean traffic is stopped).
The I-78 project is reconstructing the highway from the State Route 61 Interchange (exit 29) to approximately 2.9 miles east of Hamburg and reconstructing the Hamburg Interchange (exit 30). The total project length is approximately 6.6 miles and includes ramp configuration improvements at the Route 61 Interchange.
The general contractor on the $55.4 million project is Balfour Beatty Construction Inc., of Atlanta.
Work began in April 2005 and is expected to be complete in November. This section of I-78 has an average daily traffic volume of 31,000 vehicles.
There will be delays for travelers. Motorists are encouraged to allow extra time and use caution when traveling through work zones.