STROUDSBURG -- A nearly two year bridge construction project in the Poconos is completely finished.
A residential street near the 7th Street Bridge that had temporarily switched to one-way has now returned back to a two-way road, marking the final step in returning all affected streets to normal.
Cars driving along Lenox Street here in Stroudsburg are doing something they haven’t done since the summer of 2011: driving in both directions.
The nearby 7th Street Bridge construction project that had been going on for roughly 18 months caused side streets, including Lenox Street, to be switched to one-way roads.
For residents here on Lenox Street, they are overjoyed.
“Is it back to two-way? Oh I had no idea,” said Karen Anderson. “That’s fabulous news. We’ve been waiting so long. It’s really great. That’s going to make things so much easier.”
The 7th Street Bridge, which runs over McMichael Creek and Interstate 80 reopened last month, ending a traffic nightmare for residents and commuters.
Now with Lenox Street restored to a two-way road, the area is finally back to normal.
Many residents say it was a pain having to deal with a one-way street.
“It’s hard because I have to take a turn every day, every time, I drive a lot so now I feel more comfortable, “said Eman Shehime.
Bonnie Miller says having Lenox Street as a one-way wasn’t just a hassle; sometimes it was downright dangerous.
“It’s going to be great, people were riding around that barrier anyway, so half the time it was two way when it wasn’t supposed to be,” said “GPS didn’t change, so people from out of town would start to come in and then they’d figure it’s only one block and would just zip on down.”
But now, things are moving nicely and there’s a new bridge to boot.
“This was kind of the biggest headache and then all the traffic on broad street, you know we live right here so there’s been a lot of foot traffic, a lot of noisy traffic so it’s wonderful and the new bridge is beautiful,” said Anderson.
The new bridge cost $8 million and replaces one that was built in the 1930’s and was deemed by Penn DOT as structurally deficient.