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Business calls it quits after road closure

Route 611 in Delaware Water Gap remains shut down after a rockslide last year closed it indefinitely. The closure is impacting drivers and businesses.

DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. — Fall is one of the busiest times of the year in Delaware Water Gap, but a main road that foliage-seekers once took is still closed.

"Absolutely nothing has changed, with no date of what's actually going to happen in the future," Lauren Chamberlian, the owner of Asparagus Sunshine.

The road has been shut down for almost a year after a rockslide last December closed the three-mile stretch of Route 611 from Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County to Portland in Northampton County.

Since the closure, nearly all the businesses in the borough have told Newswatch 16 they've been impacted in one way or another.

Chamberlian has been very outspoken on the issue.

"I got through COVID, and that was a five-month shutdown completely for my business. Plus, you know, changes during that year, but I can't take the second hit. I've already done it for a year, and I can't even imagine what winter is going to be like in this town," Chamberlain said.

The holdup on getting work started stems from an issue where the rockslide happened on Route 611.

The portion of the road where it happened cuts through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, so the National Park Service has a say on how work gets done, requiring a special use permit to complete the work.

PennDOT officials confirmed a walk-through of the rockslide site with the NPS was completed on October 17, and a revised plan was submitted.

While PennDOT waits to start work, Chamberlain is calling it quits on her business of five years.

"I don't want to change the integrity of the store, and so for me, the best choice is to close it because we don't have that through traffic," Chamberlain said. "We don't have those walkers in town that would see the store, and so now it's been a year, so everyone knows (Route) 611 is closed. They don't even try to come this way or even think to come this way anymore."

Every weekend from now until the end of the year, Asparagus Sunshine will host a sale on different items to help get rid of inventory.

"It's hard for the community to lose anything. You know, we're a tiny town, so it affects everybody else. So, I held on as long," Chamberlain said.

Asparagus Sunshine closes on December 30. There is still no time frame on when work on Route 611 will begin.

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