Funds from the federal infrastructure bill will help pay for a $20 million project to replace the Route 33 bridges over Bushkill Creek in Northampton County.

The project in the Stockertown area will help mitigate the risks sinkholes pose there by adding replacement precast bridge arches on new foundations, according to a news release from PennDOT. These arches will improve support for the bridges and make it possible to fill in any future sinkholes.

Bidding for the project is expected to start in January, and construction will take two years to 30 months. The estimated cost is between $20 million and $22 million, with nearly $500,000 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds available to help pay for the project.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. The infrastructure law provides $108 billion for public transportation efforts.

A resurfacing project that will cost up to $6.5 million is also set for Route 33. This project will occur from the Northampton and Monroe county line to near Lower Cherry Valley Road in Hamilton and Ross townships in Monroe County. It will involve milling, concrete patching, scratch course, binder course, wearing course, sawing and sealing, joint cleaning and sealing, guide rail, median barrier installation, drainage improvements, shoulder rumble strips, pavement markings and other miscellaneous construction.

Bidding is set to occur in August and construction is estimated to last a year to 18 months. About $2.6 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding is available for the project.

The federal infrastructure funds are allowing the resurfacing to begin three years early and the bridge replacements to start roughly five months sooner, according to PennDOT.

Another project is planned for the Lower Swiftwater Road bridge in Paradise Township, Monroe County. The project will include superstructure replacement and rehabilitation of the bridge. Bidding is set for sometime this summer. Cost is estimated to be between $750,000 and $1 million.