Travel Advisory

Lehigh Tunnel Closures Scheduled Sept. 7 and 8 
Tunnel maintenance to impact traffic on I-476 in Carbon County

The Pennsylvania Turnpike advises motorists traveling on the Northeastern Extension (I-476) to be prepared for nighttime single-lane patterns and two-way traffic in the southbound Lehigh Tunnel from
6 p.m. on Sept. 7 until 6 a.m. on Sept. 8.

The restrictions are necessary to allow crews to safely perform tunnel inspections.

Turnpike maintenance crews will implement a traffic stoppage of no more than 15 minutes in both directions to set-up a crossover pattern directing all traffic into the southbound tunnel, prior to the start of work.

The Lehigh Tunnel is located at milepost A70-A71 between the Lehigh Valley, Exit #56, and Mahoning Valley, Exit #74, interchanges.

Message boards will be activated to update motorists of any changes to the schedule caused by inclement weather or unforeseen traffic conditions. If the work is delayed, it will take place on the next available day.

Motorists traveling on I-476 should stay alert when entering the tunnel and turn on their headlights. Drivers are also advised to slow down, keep an adequate distance from the vehicle ahead and never pass inside the tunnel. Customers who experience car trouble and cannot safely exit the tunnel should stay in the car, put on the hazard lights and wait for assistance. Tunnel personnel will monitor closed-circuit cameras and send help for disabled vehicles.

The PA Turnpike is in the process of decommissioning and removing all call boxes from the roadway due to a significant decline in use over recent years. Modern means like smart phones, make it safer for our motorists to communicate incidents safely from inside their vehicle.  To report an accident or other emergencies on the PA Turnpike, stay in your car and dial *11 on your mobile phone.

To learn more about PA Turnpike conditions or to contact us, use one of these resources:

ON THE PA TURNPIKE

·        Variable & Digital Message Signs — nearly 100 signs along the Turnpike

·        Highway Advisory Radio — 1640 AM (tune-in near interchanges)

BY PHONE

·        Turnpike Roadway Information Program (toll-free) — 866-976-TRIP (8747)

·        Customer Assistance Center (toll-free) — 800-331-3414 (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

ON THE WEB

·        TRIPTalk — free, travel-alert smartphone app; download at https://www.paturnpike.com/travel/trip_talk.aspx

·        Travel Conditions Map — live, interactive conditions map; view at https://www.paturnpike.com/webmap

·        Waze  — a crowd-sourced navigation app that provides real-time traffic conditions with input from other drivers; download at https://www.waze.com