Eli Lilly reveals plans for Lehigh Valley construction to avoid traffic problems. Here are the details.

About 1,200 construction workers who will be building the massive Eli Lilly and Co. pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township will park at a rented lot on Tilghman Street and be transported by shuttle buses to the building site, company officials said at a township planning commission hearing Wednesday.

The workers are not expected to all be on site at the same time. Another 300 administrative employees will also park at rented lots and take shuttles in. Eli Lilly officials previously said they expect construction of the $3.5 billion complex to create 2,000 jobs.

During construction, workers will remain at the site for their entire shift, project manager Bailey Kuhn told the board. Multiple “worker welfare areas” where employees can get food are planned, to cut down on trips in and out of the site.

Kuhn told the planners that there will be numerous security checkpoints going in and out of the worksite, and vehicle tires will be washed before entering.

“We really have an emphasis on this project on worker welfare. Our safety school, and what we have as far as warehouse storage, it’s really first class,” Kuhn said.

The planning commission recommended final subdivision and land development approval for the project Wednesday.

The nearly 800,000-square-foot plant is being built on 150 acres between Old Route 22 and Interstate 78 just west of Fogelsville. It will assemble injectable medications, including the weight loss drug  Zepbound and Retatrutide, a next-generation medication that is in clinical trials.

The company closed on the property last month. Lehigh County property records show that Lilly paid $74.79 million for the 150 acres along Main Street, also known as Old Route 22, just west of Fogelsville. The seller was the estate of Fred J. Jaindl.

Construction is expected to last through 2029, and the plant is projected to begin operations in 2031.

Source: The Morning Call