GOULDSBORO, Pa. — A bridge project in the Poconos has become a daily nuisance for people living nearby. It's been about a month since PennDOT closed the Route 435 bridge that goes over Interstate 380 in Monroe County for repairs.
For the past five years, Linda Alt has lived in her home in the Pocono Forest Sportsmen Club Community in Coolbaugh Township
She loves it, but more recently, she's finding it hard to get home without being frustrated. Last month, PennDOT closed the Route 435 bridge over Interstate 380 for repairs that include fixing the support walls and the bridge deck.
While the work is going on, Alt and her neighbors have to take a lengthy detour.
"The wear and tear on your car and the extra time, and you have to make your trips out worth your while," Alt said.
"It's one way in, one way out," Steven Alexander said. "There's no way around it. Like my wife said, if we want to go to the gas station that's one mile away, we have to drive to Tobyhanna, and then when we leave the gas station, you have to drive all the way up to Daleville and come all the way back. It comes to 24.1 miles to go one mile."
Newswatch 16 tested the detour starting at the closure on Route 435 near the Gouldsboro truck stop, heading north on Interstate 380 to the Daleville exit. The detour tells you to get off at the Daleville exit and get back on Interstate 380 south.
After the 13-minute 14-mile ride, we ended up on the opposite side of the closure.
Families on a fixed income say the closure is impacting their pockets more than they expected.
"We're losing. We did the math the other day, and it's like $350, $400 a month, and that's a huge hit. That's our grocery bill," Alexander said.
People who live in this community tell Newswatch 16 that when the bridge first closed in July, they weren't receiving any of their mail.
"We do now have mail delivery three days a week," Alt said. "In the beginning, the first couple of weeks, we had to go out to the post office to get our mail."
Residents hope with winter coming up, the road gets reopened soon because the other two ways out of the community aren't safe.
PennDOT says the repair work is on schedule, and the Route 435 bridge over Interstate 380 should be back open "on or before November 28."