FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP -- After more than two years, a construction project in Carbon County is coming to an end.
Since 2014, part of Pohopoco Drive in Franklin Township has been closed. A detour has been in place as a nearby turnpike bridge was being replaced, but turnpike officials say the end is near.
The bridge will be done and the road reopened before the Fourth of July.
"You had a lot of people stopping asking how to get to the lake and yeah. That's a big improvement for the turnpike, I've been on it going back and forth to Philadelphia quite a bit,” said Terry Edgar, who lives along Pohopoco Drive.
Pohopoco is the main route into Beltzville State Park.
The detour has hurt some with businesses along the way, like M & H Marine.
"In the end, it'll be all good. It's disrupted small businesses. It's disruptive, but we're trying to be patient. Hopefully, it will be a virtue,” said Craig Haupt, owner of M & H Marine.
Henry Faust and his wife live along Pohopoco Drive. The detour has made for a quieter road, but it's hurt their business Beltzville Manor Marine, too, which is right next door. They were hoping things would be back to normal before Memorial Day weekend.
“The store trade which was 20 to 50 people a day went down to like a half a dozen, so you can get a rainy day, and that's ok, but when it's every day for a couple years, well that's a big hurt,” Henry Faust said.
The Fausts say the only reason they're still in business since the detour is their loyal customers. They've had the business since 1970 and they're frustrated how long this project has gone on.
“When you look at it, I don't know why you have to keep it closed, I mean they could park their vehicles in the side of the road and not in the road,” said Faust.