Governor Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie S. Richards Jan. 10 announced 51 projects to improve transportation alternatives are in line for $33 million in federal funds.

Boroughs and townships in Lehigh County who will receive funds include:

• Macungie Borough - $542,288 for traffic calming and safety improvements to Macungie’s downtown gateway - encompassing one block of pedestrian lighting, trees and pavers (both sides) and one median island centered on Route 100.

• South Whitehall Township - $257,634 to continue the Jordan Creek Greenway –Section 50.

• Coopersburg Borough - $938,856 for traffic and pedestrian improvements to Station Avenue from Main Street to the Saucon Rail Trail, including crosswalks, curbs, sidewalk, accessibility improvements and pedestrian lighting. Additionally a Saucon Rail Trail extension will be constructed from Landis Street to Station Avenue.

• City of Allentown - $297,274 for pedestrian safety improvements at a high-volume intersection adjacent to the Allentown School District’s new public high school and adjacent to the “Connecting our Community” MLK Parkway Trail, which connects the downtown to the city’s western park resources.

“These projects are important initiatives that enhance communities across Pennsylvania to create stronger economies and better infrastructure,” Gov. Wolf said. “Making these improvements will enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to school, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, create trails that serve a transportation purpose and promote safety and mobility.”

“Supporting transportation alternatives in our communities is vital to a transportation system that works for all Pennsylvanians,” Richards said. “These investments complement our state multimodal funding to ensure we’re making connections that improve citizens’ quality of life no matter how they travel.”

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, the 2012 federal transportation authorization act known as MAP-21, introduced fundamental changes to the administration of local programs, including those that had existed as separate programs in SAFETEA-LU, the previous authorization act.

Transportation enhancements, safe routes to school, scenic byways and the Recreational Trails Program are now consolidated into the Transportation Alternatives Program.

PennDOT evaluated the applications and made selections based on such criteria as safety benefits, reasonableness of cost, readiness for implementation, statewide or regional significance, integration of land use and transportation decision making, collaboration with stakeholders, and leverage of other projects or funding.