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Bridge Closure in Cherry Valley

Drivers in one part of Monroe County will have to use to a detour for the next three years. PennDOT shut down a the Kemmertown Road Bridge in Cherry Valley near...

Drivers in one part of Monroe County will have to use to a detour for the next three years.

PennDOT shut down a the Kemmertown Road Bridge in Cherry Valley near Stroudsburg.  That closure caught many drivers by surprise.

"I was surprised to see the sign. It wasn't there yesterday!" said Vertie Knapp of Cherry Valley.

"There was no signs telling me to not go," said Marie Schuler of Cherry Valley.

The 95 year-old Kemmertown Road Bridge connects one side of Cherry Valley with the other.

PennDOT says about 700 vehicles travel over the bridge each day.

But for some of those drivers, the bridge closure is already causing problems.

"Going to church, it means going around instead of going directly," said Knapp.

"Here at this turn, they should have a notice.  I had to back all the way around. You've been down there, you go around, there's a sharp turn, and I'm taking a chance backing into somebody," said Schuler.

The Kemmertown Road Bridge is closed because it's deteriorating. Chunks of the bridge are breaking up and other chunks of the bridge are falling into Cherry Creek, right below.

PennDOT says the bridge deck and beams are severely deteriorated and a weight restriction was put on the bridge three years ago.

PennDOT plans to replace the Kemmertown Road Bridge .

Construction is expected to start in 2015 and be completed within a year.

In the meantime, drivers will have to use a detour.

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