Now that a $40 million Route 33 interchange project in Palmer Township is nearly complete, developers are eyeing the surrounding land with fresh interest.
Now that a $40 million Route 33 interchange project in Palmer Township is nearly complete, developers are eyeing the surrounding land with fresh interest.
Once complete, the interchange will link to the Chrin Commerce Centre, a Northampton County industrial park for logistics, manufacturing and warehouse facilities. The park has one tenant that recently opened, another under construction and more companies waiting in the wings.
“The interchange itself is pretty much complete,” said Dave Colver, chairman of the Palmer Township board of supervisors. “The earliest would be the end of January for a full opening.”
The project includes building a new overpass over Route 33 between the exits for Route 248 and Route 191, in addition to constructing the new interchange. The infrastructure will provide a key access point for trucks serving the industrial park.
“It’s really a major infrastructure project for the Lehigh Valley that has gone fairly unnoticed,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. “It’s a huge catalyst for economic growth. It will probably be the largest mixed-used parcel we have sitting on a new interchange.”
The bridge deck is scheduled to be done this month, and then the concrete needs to cure for 28 days, Colver said.
Crews for developer and land owner Charles Chrin continue to work on signage and traffic lights. The new infrastructure, which spans Route 33, has six lanes and a pedestrian walkway.
“It’s really moving along well,” Colver said. “In any job of that size, one would imagine delays.”
Chrin Companies, based in Palmer Township, owns about 1,000 acres of land in the industrial park interchange area, with about 700 of the acres in Palmer.
Porsche Logistics Service LLC, a manufacturing and training site, was the first development, built several years ago to serve a strategic location in the Northeast.
