In the metaphorical race to develop the land along Eberhart Road, no one can keep up with Harley-Davidson.

At the Dec. 4 Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners workshop meeting, township Engineer Frank Clark told the board Harley-Davidson is ready to proceed with development plans along Route 145, but the proposed co-occupant of that parcel has slowed momentum.

“They (Keystone Harley-Davidson) are kind of anxious to get moving. Lidl, on the other hand, is considering some other options in regard to their business plan and things like that. So they have slowed down their aggressiveness to the dismay of Harley Davidson, which is kind of married to their approval,” Clark said.

The difficult thing for the developers and planning commissions to gauge is how much traffic Lidl, or another co-occupant, would bring to Eberhart Road and Route 145.

The proposed Harley-Davidson dealership is being viewed as a destination attraction, where there will be long-term visitors without a high volume of traffic coming in and out. However, a grocery store like Lidl would require significant changes to the traffic pattern in that area.

Clark said he has begun working with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and representatives from Harley-Davidson on preparing for development without a co-occupant at this time.

“Right now, we’re exploring some possibility of what needs to be done for Harley(-Davidson), via storm drainages as well as traffic,” he said.

In other news, Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. announced that repairs to the Whitehall Parkway barn on Chestnut Street have been completed by Stable Hollow Construction of Manheim. The barn was damaged in March when a truck crashed into it.

The repairs for the barn were funded by the driver’s insurance company.

PennDOT is also finishing an important milestone in the Route 22 widening project.

As of Dec. 4, westbound traffic approaching Fullerton Avenue was being diverted to a new section of the expansion. With only some minor line striping and barrier placement remaining, PennDOT officials said they are looking to close the chapter on this portion of the update by the end of the week.