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A Wider Intersection in Brodheadsville

BRODHEADSVILLE — A busy part of Monroe County is now just a little bit easier to travel through. PennDOT finished widening a stretch of Route 209 in Brodh...
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BRODHEADSVILLE -- A busy part of Monroe County is now just a little bit easier to travel through. PennDOT finished widening a stretch of Route 209 in Brodheadsville .

The area where Route 209 meets Route 715 in Brodheadsville is finally a bit wider after nearly a year of construction and traffic backups.

"It seems much better it was always backed up, sometimes miles going this way, and it was always backed up to this light up here,” said Jesse Pfeifer of Jim Thorpe.

PennDOT contractors added three turning lanes, new traffic lights, and sidewalks, all in an effort to make this busy intersection safer and easier to navigate.

Altemose True Value Hardware sits right at this busy stretch. Workers say they took a hit during construction.

"Since they've stopped working it's better. While they were working, business was terrible,” said Ronald Keiper of Altemose True Value Hardware.

Since the new traffic patterns started last week, Keiper has noticed another problem – people making left turns across a double yellow line.

"I'm seeing a lot of people coming out of Wawa, making that left-hand turn yet, people making the left-hand turn into Wawa yet,” said Keiper.

New traffic light poles were installed as part of this PennDOT project, but one was put so close to a door, it can't open all the way - possibly making a tough sell for this building that's up for sale.

But PennDOT says the pole is on the state right of way.

Christina Mirassol of Kunkletown wasn’t entirely sold on the sidewalk improvements.

"The sidewalk, I don't think it makes any sense because it goes from nowhere to nowhere you know? It's just a block,” said Mirassol.

PennDOT says those sidewalks were required by law.

The entire project cost about $1.5 million.

“I think the money that they spent doing this, they could do something else, fix the potholes that`s everywhere you know,” said Mirassol.

Headaches for drivers in this area aren’t over just yet. Paving and some final sidewalk work is scheduled for the spring to finally wrap up this project.

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