Study: Lehigh Valley freight traffic will double by 2040

A truck sits between two rail cars at the intermodal terminal at Bethlehem Commerce Center. - (Photo / Brian Pedersen/ File photo)

Details of a study that profiles the movement of freight through Lehigh and Northampton counties revealed that the amount of freight transported through these two counties will double by 2040.

Last week, Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission presented the study to members of the organization. In June, the commission will release the study in a joint event with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at its annual transportation summit, Bradley said.

In terms of value, the value of freight in the Lehigh Valley today is $51 billion; by 2040, it’s anticipated to be $129.6 billion. That 2040 number is in 2011 dollars, meaning it hasn’t been adjusted for inflation, Bradley said. For the study, freight includes truck, rail and air travel.

It’s the first time a freight plan has been done for the region and the first one in the state, she said.

The plan covers a wide range of freight-related issues, including the region’s employment base, types of businesses and infrastructure plans.

Once the study is complete, it will help create a good freight management strategy, Bradley said.

The LVPC has a freight advisory committee, which includes members from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., Norfolk Southern Railway and other organizations involved with or connected to freight transportation.

The infrastructure budget for the two counties is $3.3 to $3.9 billion every 20 years. Of those funds, 80 percent is from the federal government and 20 percent from the state, Bradley said.

This plan is a function of the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, Bradley said.

Among other topics, the freight study will address the influence of freight on several areas of the two counties, including western Lehigh County and Route 100, South Side Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Intermodal facility and land surrounding Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

Today, 90 percent of freight tonnage and 80 percent of the value of all freight moving in, out or through the two counties is by truck. The total tonnage of freight today in the Lehigh Valley is 40.8 million tons, and that’s expected to double to 80.19 tons by 2040, Bradley said.

Source: LVB.com