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UPDATE: Route 33 Open Following Bridge Repairs

UPDATE: Officials in Monroe County said Route 33 is back open as of 10 p.m. Tuesday. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — Drivers who use Route 33 north in Monroe County h...
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UPDATE: Officials in Monroe County said Route 33 is back open as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP -- Drivers who use Route 33 north in Monroe County had to take a detour for most of the day.

The busy road in the Poconos was shut down as contractors made emergency bridge repairs.

Two holes opened on the Route 33 bridge over Pocono Creek in the Bartonsville area.

The emergency repairs forced drivers headed north to take a detour from 8 p.m. Monday and all day Tuesday.

Drivers headed north toward Bartonsville were forced to take a detour.

"There's always something. For several years it's always been like something, especially in the summertime," said Stroudsburg resident Theresa Santiago.

Santiago planned to take Route 33 north to work, but after stopping for gas she wasn't sure which way she'd go.

"I was just about to take it to work," she said. "Now I'll have to take the back roads, and then try to get onto 80 somehow."

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It was a detour a driver from Connecticut said he didn't know about.

"No, not until you told me. I'm glad you did. So we're going to head to 209," Desmond Wacasey said.

Once the crews finish the emergency repairs, Route 33 north in Monroe County will re-open, but only to one lane. PennDOT is already working on an $8.2 million project to replace the Route 33 bridge.

Former PennDOT worker Eric Howey says keeping up with deteriorating roads can be difficult.

"I'd definitely say it's a struggle. I mean, we have a lot of roads and a lot of commuters going every single day on the roads. I'm sure it wears them down pretty good, especially with the winters we've been having."

Contractors replaced rebar and poured new concrete into the holes, working as fast as possible to finish the emergency repairs.

"Yeah, I definitely have sympathy for them. It's not an easy job. I think more money should be put into it."

The bridge replacement project is scheduled to wrap up next March.

 

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