Palmer Tackling Route 33 Interchange Items

Palmer Township is preparing for the Route 33 Interchange.

At a Board of Supervisors meeting in early July, the board discussed the replacement of the Route 33/Main Street Bridge, a project that is estimated to cost between $7-8 million.

Supervisors Chairman Dave Colver said that the two-lane bridge would come down in its entirety and would be transformed into a bridge that was six lanes wide, two feet higher with its own pedestrian lane for bikes and walking.

Palmer's part, supervisors said, is to serve as the pass-through agent for $3 million of that funding where Palmer would pay the contractor and then be reimbursed by Charles Chrin Companies, which is developing the interchange.

"No Palmer taxpayer money would be used," Colver said.

Meanwhile, at Tuesday night's supervisors meeting, the board approved a rezoning of 59 acres of farmland that could pave the way for the creation of a commercial corridor.

Palmer supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the rezoning of nearly 59 acres from rural agricultural to light industrial, the Allentown Morning Call reported.

That's to accommodate a planned 425,000-square-foot warehouse complex on the northwest corner of Van Buren and Hollo roads. An additional 22.5 acres abutting the tract, which the warehouse will partially occupy, was already zoned light industrial, the story stated.