Construction Industry News Archives

Construction of Easton’s $26 million transportation center project will start in April. The final hurdle to a ground breaking later this month is approval from the Easton Historic District Commission according to Mayor Sal Panto. The development is being developed through a partnership between the city, the state of Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh and Northampton Transit Authorities.

Waterfront Development Partners, L.P., presented its plan for a waterfront project in Allentown to the Allentown City Planning Commission recently. The project, which is being called The Waterfront, is slated to convert approximately 26 acres of industrial property along the Lehigh River inside the city limits into a large scale mixed use development. Office, retail, restaurant, residential, and commercial space are all envisioned as part of the project.

Northampton County executive John Stoffa and Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan recently announced their support for a feasibility study that would eventually lead to the construction of a convention center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The projected site for the new large convention and exposition center would be near the Sands Beth Works site. Northampton County has awarded $50,000 to the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority to open the funding for the feasibility study. Increased revenue from the county’s hotel room rental taxes will be used to seek proposals from consultants to complete the study in the near future. Those involved with the potential project estimate that the privately owned center would have between 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of usable space and would be capable of hosting large scale conventions and conferences.

The United States Supreme Court has announced its docket for next session. Several cases that will impact the construction industry in Pennsylvania in some way appear on the list. Because the Supreme Court is not required to accept a case from the lower courts, its decision to do so likely means the issue is an important one that could have far reaching consequences.

The American Institute of Architects recently released the results of its survey of economic conditions as it relates to the construction design industry. The data was not encouraging for the construction industry of Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

Officials in Easton, Pennsylvania recently put on a program for developers. It included a tour of the downtown area in order to showcase the city’s potential for growth and occupancy, particularly in the business district. The program was offered by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and was attended by close to 50 people.

Work on the Allentown Hockey Arena, the future home of the Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the anchor to larger development plans in Allentown, has broken another log jam. The Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority has closed on funding for completion of the arena complex construction.

After the economy went south in 2008 and 2009, many parts of the construction industry suffered along with the economy at large. The housing sector – which reports now suggest may be in the process of a slight rebound – was hardest hit at the time. Because of the lack of work, many construction companies shifted their focus to public and institutional work. This sector seemed less impacted, perhaps largely due to money made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Construction Research and Policy Center recently reported that falls on construction sites remain an issue. They are still the single leading cause of construction site fatalities, causing 1/3 of all deaths. The annual fall fatality rate is 3 per 100,000 among construction workers, a number six times that of deaths caused by texting while driving accidents.

PennDOT District 5, out of Allentown, has started construction on improvements on I-176 between US 422 and Pa 724. The work is to include full depth reconstruction of the existing travel lanes, adding a collector/distributor lane for ramp traffic between the US 422 and PA 724 interchanges, and 3 new bridges among other things. Crews have started staging equipment and doing other preparatory work for the start of construction in earnest. The work is set to start on August 24th.