Plans for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension to widen the road from four to six lanes from Plymouth Meeting to the Lehigh Valley Interchange with Route 22, are slowly moving forward, writes Evan Jones for The Morning Call.

While construction is not expected to start soon, plans are slowly being introduced to the public.

The widening is being performed piecemeal, with the 12-mile stretch between Quakertown and Lehigh Valley interchanges broken into several sections.

“There’s four sections left,” said Kevin W. Scheurich, the Turnpike Commission’s assistant chief engineer for design.

Final design for the widening and environmental studies are already underway in anticipation of the permitting process. Fieldwork is also taking place to inform the design team about features that could impact the community surrounding the highway and minimize them.

The widening will introduce several new features, including three 12-foot driving lanes on each side with a 12-foot shoulder and a 26-foot median. Currently, the road has two 12-foot lanes with 10-foot shoulders and a 4-foot median. Six new bridges will also be constructed over local roads.

Additionally, open road tolling is still on schedule.

Read more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s plans for the Northeast Extension in The Morning Call.

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