Palmer to Build a Longer Bike Path

Palmer supervisors on Monday accepted the $284,418.50 bid from Professional Construction Contractors in Easton to finish the township's bike path.

The path will run from Northwood Avenue to Edgewood Avenue and connect to Hackett Park, said Tom Adams, the director of public works for .

Adams said the stretch is about one mile long, and follows along an old railroad line, now part of the Rails-to-Trails system. Sections of the bike path run through Easton, Tatamy, Plainfield Township, plus the two-mile section in Palmer Township that has already been completed, he said.

The new 1-mile portion of the path is part of Phase Two for Palmer Township.

Stockertown is working on a section through town to connect to the Plainfield Township trail. And Tatamy has a section in its goals that would connect its path to Stockertown’s bike path, Adams said. When completed, the entire bike path would run from Bangor to Bethlehem.

“The officials are looking forward to this getting completed,” Adams said. “It’s kind of a missing link in our regional bike path system.”

Professional Construction bid $284,418.50 to complete the project, Adams told the supervisors at Monday night’s meeting. The project is part of a matching grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As part of that grant, the township agrees to match the bid by contributing work on the project, he said.

The construction company will clear the area of trees and shrubs, excavate the ground, repair three bridges, repair concrete abutments, and install erosion and sediment control barriers, fencing, signs, and pavement markings, Adams said. The township will stone the path and pave it, and will provide grassy shoulders to the path.

The bike path will be a 12-foot wide paved surface but will narrow to a 10 feet  going across the bridges. There are three bridges along this path, two that cross the Bushkill Creek and one that crosses over an old mill race. 

There were six companies that bid on the project. Hale Built actually had the lowest bid, but was disqualified because its proposal did not meet certain requirements, explained Charles Bruno, the Palmer Township solicitor.

Before work can begin on the project, T&M Associates, an engineering firm with an office in Bethlehem, has to review the paperwork and have a preconstruction meeting with Professional Construction Contractors. The goal for the project to be completed is June 29, Adams said. Then the township can begin the paving portion of the bike path.