The Route 443 road widening project continues to roll along.

Access to and from East Penn Street at 443 will remain closed for about four months.

Local traffic to homes and businesses have had to access East Penn Street from Bridge Street via an approved detour.

The ongoing reconstruction of 443 from the Carbon Plaza Mall in Mahoning Township to the Route 209/Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge in Lehighton Borough began Feb. 15, 2022, and is projected to be finished in September 2024.

Work includes reconstructing roughly 2.25 miles of road, adding a center turn lane along the corridor, adding left-turn lanes and traffic signal improvements at the 443 intersections with Mall Road/Mall Lane and East Penn Street/Mahoning Mountain Road.

It also involves drainage improvements, traffic signing, utility installation/relocation, new guide rail, and pavement markings.

The project also includes work on the bridge over Mahoning Creek. In addition, the Route 902/South Ninth Street bridge over Mahoning Creek is being replaced and the intersection of routes 902 and 443 will be realigned slightly to the east to make a “T” intersection.

H&K Group Inc. of Skippack is the general contractor on the $21 million project.

In December, Mahoning Township supervisors discussed the addition of a streetlight at the intersection of Ashtown Drive and Route 443.

Supervisor Deb McGowan said it has become a safety issue at the intersection.

Supervisors voted to table the matter.

The Route 443/Blakeslee Boulevard reconstruction project has resulted in an uptick in traffic on Ashtown Drive.

In November, resident Colin Rehrig described how bad the situation is, and added there were at least five to six tractor-trailers going by every day.

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

Supervisors said that Lehighton Borough owns Ashtown bridge.

McGowan said at that time the township has to get rid of the excess traffic.

Rehrig also said that the speeding is terrible.

McGowan, of Ashtown Drive, told her concerns to Lehighton Borough Council several weeks after the project to reconstruct a portion of Route 443/Blakeslee Boulevard began.