It was announced at the May 17 meeting of Northampton Borough Council that a shipment of steel beams for the new Coplay-Northampton Bridge will arrive in July.

Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst said the logistics are being worked out with Pennsylvania State Police and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding the route the trucks carrying the steel beams will take. The plan was to have the trucks enter the borough via Route 329, but with the temporary closure in the area of the Kopper Penny intersection at Howertown Road, another route will be needed. (See photo below.)

The beams, weighing 310 tons apiece, will be stored at the borough parking lot on Canal Street, across from the Hungarian Hall.

Crews from Trumbull Corporation, based in Pittsburgh, did not let the recent weather slow their work. They continued to work through the rains.

Construction continues to move forward despite a late start in May 2017. In April, Rick Molchany, Lehigh County director of general services, said the three-year project is back on track and on schedule. Molchany said a favorable winter had Trumbull make up the delays.

The decking for the concrete bridge is expected to arrive by January 2019. The $33.5 million project is now in its second year.