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“Five Points” Intersection Gets a Makeover

TAMAQUA — A tricky intersection in Schuylkill County is getting a makeover. The place where Route 209 and Route 309 meet in Tamaqua can get confusing and ...
5 points

TAMAQUA -- A tricky intersection in Schuylkill County is getting a makeover. The place where Route 209 and Route 309 meet in Tamaqua can get confusing and the borough is working to make it an easier ride.

That intersection in Tamaqua is known as five points. Between five roads, one-way streets, and a lot of truck traffic, it's anything but simple, so the borough is working to make the intersection a little easier to understand.

Thousands of drivers come through the intersection in Tamaqua every day

"It wasn't built for cars, it was built for horses, buggies and railroads," said Tamaqua council president Micah Gursky.

The biggest issue is where Route 309 northbound turns into a one-way street. There's a lot of tractor trailer traffic on the road and sometimes drivers will hit the curb and take a chunk of the road with them, or even end up going the wrong way down a one-way.

"I was coming down the street and somebody went the wrong way, decided they weren't going to slow down and slammed into me," said borough resident Jill George.

The business Emma's Friends Soaps and Lotions is almost in the middle of the intersection. Employees get a front road seat to all the traffic and the issues.

"There were many times that I was here and I saw a tractor trailer go up the do not enter sign," said Sandy Rumbel.

"I have to say, overall, the drivers are very talented and manage it very well," added Penny Gursky.

Because of the issues, Tamaqua is working with PennDOT to make some changes.

"I think anything they can do will make it a little bit better for everyone's safety," said George.

One of the biggest changes will be moving "do not enter" and "wrong way" signs a little closer to the intersection because by the time they get to them now, it's too late.

"It's just goofy. It makes no sense why the 'do not enter' sign is so far up the block," said Tamaqua resident Tihanne Wright.

The borough will add more "do not enter" signs and clearly paint new lines for drivers to follow on the road and on the five crosswalks for pedestrians.

Tamaqua is paying for the project and wouldn't say how much it will cost, only that it's worth the price to alleviate the headaches now.

"It's a small investment for some signs and some paint. If we can prevent a few people from going the wrong way, it will be worth it."

The project is expected to wrap up by the end of July.

The borough considered changing some one-way roads to two-ways, but it's also cheaper to add more signs and paint new lines.

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