Bethlehem’s Capital Plan Envisions Restoring Stretches of Center, Linden Streets to Two-Way Traffic; One-Way Routes are a Bethlehem Steel Relic

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The City of Bethlehem’s Capital Plan includes proposals to restore two-way traffic to stretches of Center and Linden streets, removing another vestige of the city’s industrial history.

Back in the days of Bethlehem Steel, Center Street was made one-way north from near the Philip J. Fahy Memorial Bridge to Elizabeth Avenue, and much of Linden Street was converted to one-way south.

The idea was to help workers get to and from the steel plant in South Bethlehem at shift changes.

As most residents have noticed (and many don’t even recall the days of “The Steel”), Bethlehem Steel last poured hot metal in its namesake city in 1995. That was the “last cast,” in metal terminology. For years before that, traffic to the plant had diminished as employment fell.

Now, 29 years later, changing the streets to regular two-way configurations is being talked about again, but there is no guarantee that this item in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan will happen anytime soon.

The city is applying for grants to make the change. Reasons for returning the streets to normal traffic include safety, reducing speeding and promoting businesses.

We will see if that happens. At this rate, SteelStacks on the South Side will rust away before Center and Linden give up this northside vestige of the days when Bethlehem Steel dominated the city.

Stand by!