Lehigh Street
Encyclopedia
Lehigh Street is a major road that connects Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...

 in the west to Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...

 in the east, in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...

 region of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The road is one of six roads that enter and depart Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...

, the third largest city in the state.

Lehigh Street is one of several major Allentown-area exits off Interstate 78
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...

, which runs from the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...

 and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in the east to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

 in the west.

Lehigh Street also serves as a major commercial center for the Lehigh Valley. It is particularly well known for its "auto mile", which includes approximately a dozen new and used automobile dealerships. As the road enters Allentown from the west, it also runs by Queen City Airport
Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport
Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport is a public use airport located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The airport is located on Lehigh Street, two nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport...

, an Allentown airport used mostly by small, privately-owned aircraft. The South Mall, in Salisbury Township
Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Salisbury Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The township borders Allentown Bethlehem, and Emmaus, in the Lehigh Valley region....

, is located on Lehigh Street.

The Emmaus side of Lehigh Street is the location of Shangy's, a beer distributor with the largest selection of domestic and global beers in the nation (over 3,000 in all). Rodale Press
Rodale Press
Rodale, Inc., is an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties. Rodale is headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania and also maintains a satellite office in New York City, on Third Avenue....

, a leading global publisher of health-related books and magazines, also is located off Lehigh Street, on the Emmaus side of the road.

Route description

Lehigh Street is a continuation of State Avenue near South Mall
South Mall
The South Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States, immediately outside of the city of Allentown....

, in the northern sections of Emmaus
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...

. Upon crossing the Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...

-Emmaus
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...

 boundary, it widens to a four-lane road with a center left-turn lane. From there, Lehigh runs northward traversing one of the busiest commercial districts in the city.

North of 29th Street SW, Lehigh Street interchanges the Interstate 78/Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309 is a major highway which runs for 134 miles through Pennsylvania in the United States. It connects Philadelphia and its northern suburbs to Allentown, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre. A limited-access highway portion of PA 309 in the Wilkes-Barre area is known as the North...

 overlap. North of the underpass, Lehigh is designated east of Queen City Airport.

The street runs away of the airport, while progressing northward. At the intersection with Jefferson Street, Lehigh Street narrows to two-lanes and turns slightly to run on a northeast course. North of 12th Street, the street does not have the center left-turn lane.

A couple of blocks from South 12th Street, Lehigh Street intersects several Allentown-area roads and passes south of the abandoned Bicentennial Park
Bicentennial Park (Allentown)
Bicentennial Park is a stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park, officially named Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park, is primarily used for baseball and softball....

. At Wyoming Street, Lehigh turns east and widens to three-lanes (two southbound and one northbound). Briefly west of S. 8th Street, Lehigh Street eastbound continues as Saint John Street up to S. 6th Street (PA 145 south).

Lehigh Street westbound begins at the intersection with PA 145
Pennsylvania Route 145
Pennsylvania Route 145 , unofficially known as "the gateway to Allentown", is a long north–south state highway in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania...

, four blocks from downtown Allentown. The one-way roadway merges with Saint John Street which becomes Lehigh Street eastbound.

History

In 1941, from Cedar Crest Boulevard in Emmaus to S. 6th Street and Auburn Street (today PA 145) in Allentown, Lehigh Street was designated as Pennsylvania Route 29
Pennsylvania Route 29
Pennsylvania Route 29 is a 118 mile long north–south state highway that runs through most of eastern Pennsylvania. The route currently exists in two segments, a southern segment and a northern segment. The southernmost terminus of the designation is at U.S. Route 30 in Malvern...

. By 1960, the designation was removed.

Major intersections

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