The many commercial businesses on MacArthur Road, Grape Street and at the Lehigh Valley Mall are looking forward to the end of the major construction at the MacArthur Road and Route 22 interchange.

The two-year project involved erecting a new bridge over Route 22 carrying traffic on MacArthur Road and realigning and widening ramps connecting MacArthur and Route 22.

This week, Whitehall Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. said a protective wall will be constructed for sidewalks on the south side of MacArthur Road.

Three of the newly reconfigured ramps are completed and the fourth is in the final stages of construction. Work will continue on the site. None of the work will reportedly interfere with the movement of traffic.

Lanes of traffic on Route 22 were closed Saturday and Sunday for inspections of the new bridge.

Such inspections will not occur again until some time in January.

With extra police patrols on the ready, the township is prepared for the heavy influx of Christmas shoppers, which means thousands of vehicles heading for the malls and shopping centers in Whitehall.