Whitehall Township Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. gave an update on the various road construction projects in the township, including the Route 145 safety project, at Monday's Board of Commissioners meeting.

Hozza said southbound MacArthur Road traffic is now diverted into two temporary lanes along the Lehigh Valley Hospital property, across from the township campus. Referring to the roadbeds as "the cornfield," Hozza said on Aug. 9, northbound Route 145/MacArthur Road traffic was diverted at the Arlington Cemetery driveway area into temporary northbound lanes along the hospital property.

"The contractor is now building steel support walls at all the bridges so that demolition of them may get underway," Hozza said. The work is a two-year construction project, expected to be completed in the fall of 2013.

The mayor said for anyone driving on the temporary roadway at the Whitehall Family Restaurant, "you get a clear idea of how much lower the highway will be after construction ends next year."

The speed limit is 30 miles per hour in the construction zone, he said.

At the Route 22/145 MacArthur Road interchange project, Hozza said the contractor, HRI, will have nighttime lane restrictions between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The firm will remove the existing sidewalks on the Route 22 bridge to allow for the shifting of lanes during the start of the construction of the new bridge.

Regarding township street reconstruction projects, Hozza told the commissioners Presidential Drive, from the Sunset to South Whitehall Township line and Mickley Road and Old Mickley Pike from Route 22 to Delphi, have been completed. Township public works crews milled and placed the binder and Herman Paving of Whitehall completed the finish coat.

North Lehigh Avenue and Cherry Street also received base repair. The finish coat will be completed by month's end by Eastern Industries.

Hozza reported public works personnel are rebuilding the two exit alleys at Laurel Fire Station in Cementon and Hillcrest Lane at the Egypt Fire Station resulting from safety concerns and township fire equipment.