A project is under way to change the Y-intersection at Route 115 and Merwinsburg Road in Effort, Chestnuthill Township, to a T-intersection. (See: PennDOT turning fork in the road into a T. Times News Jan 23, 2024). Many drivers in Carbon and Monroe Counties are familiar with this intersection.

Merwinsburg Road will be realigned, and Route 115 will be widened with new left turn lanes in both directions, from Astolat Road to about 300 feet north of the Pohopoco Creek Bridge. According to PennDOT: “This will enable motorists on Route 115 to turn left at the new T-intersection onto Merwinsburg Road. No more Y.”

Merwinsburg Road between Jonas Road and Route 115 in Effort is a scenic and historic district anchored by the landmark Merwinsburg Hotel property to the north, which is surrounded by a landscape of forest, fields, and farmland bearing remnants of the area’s agricultural past.

Pohopoco Creek, a 27-mile tributary that feeds Beltzville Lake and empties into the Lehigh River, runs through the project area on both sides of Route 115, crossing underneath the highway to parallel Merwinsburg Road north of the “fork in the road” that PennDOT finds so troubling. Potentially devastating impacts of road construction on this high-quality trout stream are not even mentioned in the project description.

According to a spokesperson: “PennDOT gave the green light in December, so the project is allowed to begin any time.” The contractor has already clear-cut an entire hillside of mature healthy trees along the southbound lane of Route 115 to make way for the project.

Reconfiguration of scenic and historic roadways into gridlike patterns for the convenience of commercial development and heavy truck traffic is not something to be taken lightly. Any traffic issues that might exist at this historic intersection could easily be managed by improved signage or signals instead of this multimillion-dollar road reconstruction project.

Juliet Perrin

Albrightsville