The Borough of Emmaus and Lower Macungie Township are among area municipalities in Lehigh County receiving funds to improve mobility and safety in transportation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently announced 86 projects in 35 counties will improve safety and mobility with $84 million in multimodal transportation fund investments from Act 89, the state's transportation plan.

In addition to the 86 multimodal projects announced, PennDOT is investing $7.2 million in Act 89 transit funding for five other transit projects requesting multimodal funding.

Emmaus borough will receive $238,777 to replace the 10th Street culvert, associated sidewalks and street and add a pedestrian/bicycle lane.

Lower Macungie Township will receive $175,000 to construct bridge and trail connections to complete the existing trail network in residential and open space areas at Little Lehigh Creek along Spring Creek Road.

These grants were made possible by Act 89, which increased transit funding and established dedicated multimodal funding for aviation, passenger rail, rail freight, port and bicycle-pedestrian projects. The project funding comes from three state fiscal years of Act 89 investments.

PennDOT evaluated the applications and made selections based on such criteria as safety benefits, regional economic conditions, the technical and financial feasibility, job creation, energy efficiency and operational sustainability.

The projects require a 30 percent match from local sources.

Allentown and the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, Hanover Township, also in Lehigh County, received Act 89 project funding as well.

For more information about the program, visit www.dot.state.pa.us and click on "Multimodal Transportation."