The Route 443/Blakeslee Boulevard reconstruction project has resulted in an uptick in traffic on a Mahoning Township roadway.

Resident Colin Rehrig described how bad the situation is to supervisors on Wednesday.

“Traffic’s terrible,” Rehrig said. “There’s at least five to six tractor-trailers going by every day.”

Rehrig then asked to make Ashtown Drive local delivery only, no trucks.

“There’s no reason a tractor-trailer has to go that way,” he said. “They have to turn onto Mall Road. That’s not made for tractor-trailers.”

Supervisors noted that Lehighton Borough owns Ashtown bridge.

Supervisor Deb McGowan said the issue is a real concern.

“We have to figure out a way to get rid of the traffic,” McGowan said. “I hope it gets better once they’re done with (the Route) 443 (project).”

But, tractor-trailers aren’t the only issue, according to Rehrig.

“The speeding is terrible,” he added.

Board Chairman Robert Slaw told Rehrig that the board will see where the matter is by next month’s meeting.

“Our next meeting, if it’s not resolved, then we’ll figure something out,” Slaw said.

McGowan, of Ashtown Drive, stated her concerns to borough council several weeks after the project to reconstruct a portion of Route 443/Blakeslee Boulevard began.

In March 2021, McGowan told Lehighton Borough Council she was worried that more tractor-trailers brought on by the road project will damage Ashtown bridge.

Additionally, she said the 443 project had resulted in more traffic and tractor-trailers being diverted over Ashtown bridge.

The project began Feb. 15 and will rehabilitate the portion of roadway from the Carbon Plaza Mall in Mahoning Township to the Route 209/Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge in Lehighton.

H&K Group Inc. of Skippack is the general contractor on the $21 million project that is anticipated to be complete in September 2024.