St. Luke’s University Health Network celebrated the completion of the first phase of a nearly $30-million improvement and expansion of a one-mile section of Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township near Route 33.

State and local officials, regional business leaders, physicians, members of the community, supporters and friends joined St. Luke’s Aug. 27 to acknowledge the private and public partnership created to complete this portion of the project.

“The impact of this public and private partnership has resulted in the advancement of economic growth and increased access to health care in our community,” said Richard A. Anderson, President & CEO, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “This road project represents a cooperative effort funded largely by St. Luke’s in combination with state grants and a contribution by KRE Group to improve the transportation system that ultimately feeds the local economy.”

St. Luke’s is investing more than $28 million in the project with an additional $6 million contributed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and federal grants earmarked for economic growth. The project is divided into three phases.

“The road project follows a history of St. Luke’s and Bethlehem Township working closely together that includes acquiring 500 acres of land; building a hospital, medical office building and cancer center; expanding of the emergency room two years after the hospital opened; completing the hospital’s fourth floor medical-surgical unit to accommodate the patient volume years before projected; partnering with Rodale Institute to create the St. Luke’s Rodale Institute Organic Farm, and creating jobs through the construction and employees at the campus,” said Charles Saunders, MD, Chairman, Board of Trustees, St. Luke’s University Health Network.

St. Luke’s Anderson Campus opened in November 2011 and quickly exceeded expected volumes by 60 percent in its first eight months of operation, Saunders said. To accommodate the tremendous growth, a $4.5-million expansion project increased the number of treatment rooms from 17 to 32 and doubled the size of the Emergency Department in April 2013. Three months later, the unfinished fourth floor was completed to meet the patient volume, increasing the total patient bed capacity from 72 to the full-licensed component of 108 beds.

“This thriving health care campus required infrastructure improvements to Freemansburg Avenue,” Saunders said. “The road expansion is improving access to excellent health care and contributed significantly to the economic growth and development of the area.”

The $15-million first phase of the Freemansburg Avenue construction project has been primarily financed by St. Luke’s, said D. Martin Zawarski, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Bethlehem Township.

“In 2003, as St. Luke’s was planning a new health care campus, St. Luke’s entered into a master development agreement with Bethlehem Township to address improvements to the existing infrastructure. Through perhaps one of the greatest public-private partnerships in our region, involving Bethlehem Township, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and St. Luke’s, a plan was developed to improve the major infrastructure along Freemansburg Avenue, involving the road, sewer and water systems,” Zawarski said.

Bethlehem Township is the third-largest municipality in Northampton County, with nearly 25,000 residents, according to Zawarski. With the township growth estimated at 12 percent over the next 10 years, the Freemansburg Avenue corridor will increasingly be important to the residents to access entertainment, shopping and health care, he said.

“St. Luke’s stepped up to the plate to finance significant changes to Freemansburg Avenue, taking on more infrastructure expense than was required to build the first phase of St. Luke’s Anderson Campus,” Zawarski continued. “Instead of only doing what was required, St. Luke’s agreed to the full build-out of Freemansburg, including the widening of the bridge, preferring to do it once upfront and to do it right.”

Because of the complexity of the project, it took five years to develop a plan that would best meet the community’s needs now and far into the future, while meeting PennDOT’s requirements and design regulations. St. Luke’s worked with the Bethlehem Township engineers who designed the expansion of the road to the east and west of the bridge.

“St. Luke’s pledged to be a good partner with us and with PennDOT; they fulfilled that promise. Today, with the completion of Phase I of the Freemansburg expansion, we are seeing the evidence of this partnership,” Zawarski said.

The need to expand Freemansburg was initiated by another major roadway development, according to Michael W. Rebert, PE, District Engineer, Engineering District 5-0, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. In January 2002, the southern extension of Route 33 with I-78 was completed, which immediately opened up transportation along the major roadways and also the interchanges off Route 33, including Freemansburg Avenue. The Route 33 expansion also opened the door to economic development and job growth and access to health care as the Southmont Shopping Center opened as did St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, Reber said.

“At that time, no one could predict just how much additional traffic we would experience as a result of this three-mile expansion to Route 33, and how it would ultimately impact Freemansburg Avenue. Today, more than 15,000 vehicles travel Freemansburg Avenue daily, and this region continues to experience growth,” said Rebert.

“Transportation systems are essential to the continued vitality of any region, easing traffic and providing access to essential services. Even before St. Luke’s Anderson Campus was built, St. Luke’s committed to significant improvements to Freemansburg Avenue by entering into partnership with Bethlehem Township and with PennDOT to make improvements for today and for the future,” continued Rebert.

The road improvement project includes the widening of the Freemansburg Bridge, owned by the Commonwealth, a project made necessary to avoid a traffic “choke point” at the bridge. St. Luke’s has worked with the state to design and finance the bridge project, ultimately increasing the number of lanes from five to eight lanes. The bridge expansion will benefit development in the area and improve traffic flow and access to services to area residents, including the newest Bethlehem Township residents moving into the luxury apartments at Madison Farms.

The first phase of construction consisted of road widening west of the Freemansburg bridge to Farmersville Road. New traffic signals, drainage systems and ADA-approved sidewalks have been installed. Pole-mounted utilities were relocated underground. More than 20 sink holes were repaired as part of the scope of the project. New landscape medians have improved the aesthetics of the site, while improved road signage has increased motorist safety, according to Rebert.

The $13.1-million second phase to rebuild the Freemansburg bridge and widen the on and off ramps began in May and will continue until December of 2016. This portion of the project was partially funded through combined state and federal grants totaling $6.1 million, with the remainder financed by St. Luke’s.

The $6-million final phase of the project is currently under review with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The proposed plan, completely funded by St. Luke’s, includes widening the road from the east side of the Freemansburg bridge to Kingsview Avenue and is slated to take a year, beginning December 2016.