Route 611 in Delaware Water Gap to reopen soon after being closed since 2022

After waiting nearly 21 months for relief, people who depend on using Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap may finally get some relief.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright’s office announced Friday afternoon that PennDOT and the National Park Service have reached a compromise to reopen the highway that was closed in December 2022 because of a rockslide in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

PennDOT says it will take about eight to 10 weeks to complete the project and get traffic flowing once permits are finalized. NPS confirmed the permitting process would be expedited because the project is temporary and not directly impacting resources.

“In my ongoing meetings with PennDOT, the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration — along with national, state and local public officials — we were able to find common ground that included prioritizing the opening of the road to traffic while keeping motorists safe,” said Cartwright, D-8th District. “I am grateful for the partnership with Sen. Rosemary Brown and Rep. Tarah Probst’s offices, and the multi-level collaboration with National Parks, PennDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, and so many community officials who continued to show up and advocate for a solution.”

The plans include the installation of a temporary, free-standing rockfall barrier. This compromise will allow two-way traffic to flow while officials continue working behind-the-scenes on a more permanent solution.

“This is a critical step in restoring accessibility and alleviating the hardships faced by our residents and businesses,” said Brown, R-Monroe. “While this is a temporary fix, it is an important move toward a permanent resolution. I will continue to advocate for a comprehensive, long-term solution that balances all interests.”

NPS officials said they are also pleased to have found a viable compromise that will allow Route 611 to re-open, bringing much-needed relief to local businesses, residents and communities.

Negotiations between PennDOT and the NPS dragged out for several months, Dozens of pages of emails between PennDOT and the National Park Service obtained by The Morning Call through Freedom of Information Act requests showed a constant back and forth, with some email chains going over several weeks and seeming to demonstrate a lack of urgency that has upset residents, business owners and local officials.

Portland Mayor Heather Fischer was one of the local officials frustrated by the slow responses, though she’s glad traffic will eventually be flowing again. Route 611 is the main road people from the borough and Upper Mount Bethel Township use to get to Stroudsburg. The detour forced residents to use Interstate 80 on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River and cross two toll bridges.

Route 611 also goes through Portland’s business district and at least one business has closed because of the long closure.

However, Fischer still is concerned about reaching a permanent solution to the rockslide problem.

“I’m glad,” she said. “It is really confusing because now I know what’s going to happen. Everyone’s going to think someone released something a couple of weeks ago that said that they’d come to an agreement on the amount of rocks. No, they did not. There’s still much more of the process to go through.

“We had people calling us and celebrating and we’re like, ‘what are you talking about?’ It gets very confusing. I’m just glad that people are going to be able to get back and forth. The road is going to be opened and you know, it’s unfortunate that it’s going to take six to eight weeks because that’s like the rest of the summer, but it’s better than waiting longer. This could go on for months and months, years. It could go on more, many more years. But at least it’s gonna be open while they’re going through it.”

Fischer credited Cartwright, PennDOT engineer Scott Cressman and state Rep. Ann Flood, R-Northampton, for keeping the borough up to date on the project.

“It made a huge difference in making us feel like we weren’t invisible,” Fischer said.

Route 611 in the Delaware Water Gap area has remained closed after heavy rains led to a rockslide along Mount Minsi. When re-opening the road hit an impasse due to statutory limitations faced by NPS and PennDOT, Cartwright convened the multi-level meetings between the agencies and elected officials in the affected region.

“Our intention was to hold an ongoing, open discussion on how we could mitigate the challenges the National Park Service and PennDOT faced regarding the reopening of Route 611. I am very pleased we were able to devise a cooperative strategy between both agencies that will provide much-needed relief to the people we serve,” Cartwright said.

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com .