Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials came to White Haven to speak to East Side and White Haven officials about Route 940 as a diversion route due to tolling on the new Interstate 80 bridges over the Lehigh River.

With tolling gantries planned to be erected on Interstate 80 in 2023, PennDOT has to make improvements to the diversion route before the tolling goes live, ahead of when construction starts on the new bridges (in 2024 if all goes to plan).

PennDOT’s proposal starts by repaving Route 940 from the Route 437 intersection east through White Haven and East Side to Route 534. Some road reconstruction will be necessary. Additional asphalt will be used to raise the roadway approaching the railroad crossing in both directions to improve sightlines and reduce the bump over the tracks.

PennDOT looks to post Route 940 east through White Haven’s downtown to Route 534 in East Side, barring 102-inch-wide trailers except for local deliveries. White Haven Police would enforce this in White Haven Borough, with violators facing a $300 fine. East Side Borough does not have any police.

Lights for a pedestrian and bike crossing in the heart of White Haven’s downtown would be installed at Berwick and Main streets to stop traffic. That intersection is where the Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Corridor rail trail crosses.

Traffic calming measures will be explored including a rotary or median that narrows the road in East Side, though Penn­DOT’s plans are unclear at this time.

A public meeting on PennDOT’s plans for these local road improvements is expected later this spring, or during the summer. PennDOT held a public forum in Kidder Township at the Split Rock Resort in 2021.