During the Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, August 9, supervisors unanimously granted Prologis, a warehouse development on Willowbrook Road, permission to conduct overnight concrete pours at two construction sites on the property.
Kristine Dwyer, project manager at Prologis, requested that pours start at 1 a.m. and run through 7 p.m. Typical work hours at the site are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“[We are] trying to catch up on the schedule,” she told supervisors. “[We had] some issues with the concrete and the soil on the site.”
Prologis has already received zoning approval for an onsite batch plant. Slab pours would be conducted every two to three days, with four trucks running through the day. Dwyer said a new schedule would be submitted if temperatures change and that the developers would be willing to measure sound decibels to prevent a nuisance to neighboring properties.
Supervisor Gary Behler asked that the developers work with nearby residents.
“If they don’t have any problems with it, then I don’t have any problems with it,” he said.
Supervisors voted to allow the developers three 24-hour workdays per week, Monday through Friday, through the end of August, with the stipulation that the schedule may change should neighboring residents complain.
In other news, supervisors explored traffic calming measures for East Bullshead Road. Residents of Country Road, a dead-end cul-de-sac off East Bullshead, have complained of tractor trailers using the road to turn around.
Township Manager Ilene Eckhart calls this cul-de-sac the “point of no return.” If truck drivers don’t turn around here, they become stuck beneath the Nor-Bath Trail Trestle. Recovery and road closures can take hours.
“[Country Road] is the last hope to get yourself turned around and out of there in one piece,” Eckhart said. She said she has begun to explore solutions for this repeated problem and asked supervisors for their thoughts.
“We do not have enough signage on Willowbrook Road,” said Supervisor Dale Hassler. “We need large signs.”
Hassler suggested that signs, four to eight feet wide, be placed before the East Bullshead intersection.
“We need something that these drivers see,” he added.
Behler wondered whether a roundabout would work to keep traffic moving while allowing trucks to turn around.
“You are talking megabucks,” said Hassler. “If we can curve [truck traffic] by putting that sign up..the end result would be the same…You’re keeping the trucks off that road.”
Hassler said signs should be the first step before exploring something like a roundabout.
Supervisors agreed, but not all were hopeful that change would be seen.
“I’ll be shocked if you find anything changes there,” said Behler.
During the meeting, supervisors also approved Eckhart to send a letter to PennDOT, requesting that the state perform a speed study of all state roads in the township. This study includes Indian Trail Road, Kreidersville Road, Howertown Road, and Cherryville Road. Cherryville Road, said Eckhart, is the township’s highest fatality road.
Finally, supervisors approved the LSA Grant application for Monroe and Lehigh/Northampton Counties. The township will apply for $159,900 to purchase a new public works backhoe.
The next Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting will be Tuesday, August 23, at 7 p.m.
