One year ago, on Nov. 5, 2024, PennDOT opened one lane of a two-lane stretch of Route 611 north of Northampton County in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that had been closed for nearly two years due to a rockslide and slope failure.
Now they’re asking for a little more patience from motorists.
Signs installed last month tell motorists heading in either direction: “Wait up to 5 minutes for green.”
They are aimed at drivers who have grown tired of waiting and ignored red lights, causing traffic problems on the road, PennDOT spokesperson Sean Brown said.
“The Department had received complaints from local residents and municipalities stating that it happened ‘frequently,’ ” Brown said.
Concrete barriers line about a half-mile area of Route 611, which winds along the Delaware River on one side and steep cliffs from Mount Minsi on the other.
Traffic lights were installed about a half mile apart on the road, with traffic flowing in one direction at a time between them, according to PennDOT. The lights are timed to allow drivers to clear the stretch before allowing drivers to come from the other side. The process can take several minutes.
With the road reduced to a single lane, it makes it difficult or impossible for vehicles to turn around once they go past the traffic signals. But drivers from either direction are being forced to back out of the single lane area to make way for oncoming traffic, according to some people.
Brown was unable to give information about any crashes due to wrong-way drivers. A spokesperson at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which manages Route 611 in the area, was unavailable to comment due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Tara Mezzanotte, founder of a road advocacy group I-80/Route611 Delaware Water Gap Coalition, said the issue came to light this year when Upper Mount Bethel Township officials discussed drivers getting caught in the one-way section because of others not waiting for the light to turn from red to green.
The issue also surfaced on social media from frustrated motorists looking for help, according to Mezzanotte.
She said township officials asked PennDOT to “look into creative ways to inspire patience at the lights.”
Brown said the new signs are unique and have never been used in PennDOT’s District 5, which includes the Lehigh Valley.
“The standard special sign that it replaced, which stated ‘Wait for Green Light,’ is more common at signal locations where red light running is an issue,” he said.
The section of Route 611 was closed in December 2022 after heavy rains led to a rockslide along Mount Minsi. Barricades were put up in Upper Mount Bethel Township just north of Portland and in Delaware Water Gap Borough in Monroe County. Traffic was detoured onto Interstate 80 on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River and forced motorists to use two toll bridges.
PennDOT and the National Park Service, which oversees the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, must coordinate efforts to reopen the road to traffic on two lanes in opposing directions. But it took months of talks between the agencies, with prodding from federal and state lawmakers, to reach an agreement on repairs. The delay frustrated municipal officials and local businesses.
The project is undergoing preliminary engineering, PennDOT’s Brown said, with no estimated timeline for the when work will be finished.
Contact Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone at asalamone@mcall.com.
