It’s only 2,700 feet of fresh pavement, but for people and businesses on either side of the Delaware Water Gap, it’s a lifeline.
On Tuesday morning, PennDOT will remove what seemed to be permanent “road closed” signs across Route 611, and the important link between the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos will be open to traffic for the first time in nearly two years.
“I’m happy, and the local people are happy about it,” said Nicolay Mazhirov, who owns Alexandra and Nicolay Chocolate, an artisan candy store in Portland, near the south end of the detour. “Unfortunately, it took a really long time. We don’t understand. Was it a case of bureaucracy or was it undoable for two years?”
The section of Route 611 through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 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 to use two toll bridges.
A sign Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, prohibits wide vehicles on a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The highway reopens Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
A section of Route 611 is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. A 3-mile stretch of the highway through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area reopens Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Owner Nicolay Mazhirov of Alexandra & Nicolay Chocolate, in the heart of Portland, is happy Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, that a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. The closure had a dire effect on businesses in the area. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Indy Carlson, a barista at the Mystical Mug in Delaware Water Gap, on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, says the reopening of Route 611 will bring many customers back who stayed away after the highway was closed following a rockslide in December 2022. A 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. The closure had a dire effect on businesses in the area. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Owner Nicolay Mazhirov of Alexandra & Nicolay Chocolate, in the heart of Portland, is happy Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, that a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. The closure had a dire effect on businesses in the area. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
PennDOT spokesperson Ron Young stands just outside a newly repaired 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway reopens Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Route 611 runs through Portland on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. A 3-mile stretch of the highway through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. The closure had a dire effect on businesses in the area. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
An underground electrical box can provide electricity to a stop light at one end of a 3-mile, one-lane section of Route 611 for up to 10 hours in the event of a power failure. The highway through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
A signal controls traffic Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at one end of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)Call)
Part of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
The newly repaired Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area includes a fence to prevent rocks from falling on the highway Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
The newly repaired Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area includes a fence to prevent rocks from falling on the highway Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Part of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Part of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Part of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Part of a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The highway is reopening Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
A sign Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, prohibits wide vehicles on a 3-mile stretch of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The highway reopens Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, after being closed in both directions since a December 2022 rockslide. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
ExpandAfter months of talks between PennDOT and the National Park Service, the two agencies reached an agreement in July to begin repairs. While the highway through the park is maintained by PennDOT, the land around and beneath the road belongs to the NPS.
On Monday morning, PennDOT gave The Morning Call a quick tour of the affected area. Northbound Route 611 narrows to one lane at the Point of Gap Overlook by the Northampton-Monroe county line. Traffic signals will control the flow of traffic, which will be funneled between two Jersey barriers for just over a half-mile.
The one-lane section is a little over 14 feet wide. The prohibition for vehicles more than 8 feet wide, which was in place before the closure, will continue to be enforced.
The highway returns to two lanes just before the Resort Point Overlook.
Workers from J.D. Eckman Inc., the general contractor for the project, were on hand clearing leaves from the road.
PennDOT Inspector-in-Charge Calvin Ulshafer said the installation of temporary rock walls and the new pavement began in September after nearly a month of work required to install 7,200 feet of underground electric wires to power the traffic lights.
Overhead wires were not an option because of the trees, he said.
“A lot of guys that did a lot of good work in a short time to pull off this fast thing,” said Ulshafer, who said a crew of 18 worked diligently on the $2.7 million project.
The rock slide wasn’t in a single spot, Ulshafer said.
“It was all over the place,” he said.
Also during construction, the crew was monitored by the NPS and members of the Delaware Nation tribe to make sure no artifacts were unearthed.
“Nobody found anything,” Ulshafer said.
The single lane around Mount Minsi is only a temporary solution as PennDOT and NPS negotiate to reopen the full two lanes. There is no date for that work to begin.
“The next step is the department will do their environmental clearances and work with the National Park Service and the local tribes to be able to get a viable plan to do the necessary rock work to make it safe,” Ulshafer said. “There’s no timetable on getting those clearances.”
Still, having the road cleared was a relief for merchants, who depend on tourist traffic using Route 611. Before the rockslide, the highway averaged about 3,600 vehicles per day.
Both Portland and Delaware Water Gap lost businesses, while the remaining ones struggled to get by.
Indy Carlson, a barista at The Mystical Mug in Delaware Water Gap, expects to have many customers coming back with traffic returning.
Mazhirov said he had a longtime customer from Stroudsburg who stopped coming because he didn’t want to use I-80 and deal with its heavy truck traffic.
“I had some good customers, which I lost, and hopefully I’ll get them back,” he said.
Mazhirov is also looking forward to tourists coming back to see the mountains and stop in for a chocolate treat. He hopes the agencies will be able to get the full highway reopened quickly.
“Hopefully no more politics will be involved,” he said.
Portland Mayor Heather Fischer said she’s looking toward the future.
“I am excited for the opening and so are the residents and small businesses in Portland,” she told The Morning Call Monday night. “We are all trying to focus on the positive of it opening and not the negative of how long it took to get here or the businesses we lost in the process. Thank you to (state) Rep. (Ann) Flood, Congressman (Matt) Cartwright and PennDOT for all their hard work and efforts. I hope everyone uses the road tomorrow to go vote and get our country back on the right track.”
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.