A project to rehabilitate Route 248 in Carbon County is in full swing.

Crews are currently working on concrete patching on mainline 248 and the 248 ramps, and are also installing barrier on mainline 248, according to Sean Brown, safety press officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

“At about late October/November time frame, the contractor will be starting the rock wall work,” Brown said. “This will be ongoing into next year.”

Brown said paving won’t begin until summer of fall of 2021, noting that the time frames are estimates.

Work on the project began Aug. 10, at which point 3 miles of 248 eastbound were reduced to one lane from Parryville to about a mile before the Palmerton exit.

The PennDOT project involves redoing the road between Route 209 and the Northampton County line.

Work includes upgrading rock fence, upgrading median barrier, concrete patching, concrete joint rehabilitation, milling and paving, upgrading shoulders and guide rail new pavement markings and other miscellaneous items.

The project also includes rehabilitating interchange ramps on this section of Route 248.

J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen is the general contractor on the $13.9 million project, slated for completion in June 2022. During the first phase of the project, motorists should expect 24-hour single-lane conditions on Route 248 east and west for concrete median barrier work.

During the first phase of the project motorists should expect 24-hour single-lane conditions on Route 248 east and west for concrete median barrier work. During this phase the contractor will work in 2-mile increments starting at Route 209 and working east until all the barrier has been upgraded. This barrier work is expected to last through the fall of this year.

After the first phase is complete, the contractor plans to switch to weeknight lane restrictions between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. to perform roadway rehabilitation work. Updates will be provided whenever traffic patterns change.

This section of Route 248 runs through East Penn, Franklin, and Lower Towamensing townships, and Bowmanstown, Palmerton, and Parryville boroughs and was first constructed in 1962 and received a major resurfacing in 1999. Smaller sections received minor resurfacing in 2012 and 2014.

The average daily traffic volume on Route 248 in Carbon County varies between 18,813 and 22,161 vehicles.

Work on this project is in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the job site, and relevant training.