SAYLORSBURG, Pa. — Lee Kirchner has lived in this community alongside Route 33, near Saylorsburg, for 15 years, seeing his fair share of deadly crashes right in front of his home.
When he noticed PennDOT was replacing metal barriers with concrete ones on the highway, he hoped he may not have to see another person die on the roadway.
"It thought it was going to come down this way. I thought they were going to go all the way back down to where 209 is, going to Lehighton. So for them not to bring the barrier up here is wrong," said Kirchner.
PennDOT says the work is part of a resurfacing project which runs from the Northampton/Monroe county line to Lower Cherry Valley Road in Hamilton Township.
The stretch of roadway Kirchner and other residents want to see a concrete barrier added to is less than a mile north on Route 33.
"I was so hopeful that was going to be up here when I saw they were doing the concrete barriers. I was like that's great. They're going to be bringing them up here, and then I was like, I don't really see that happening or anything, and so I was like they're probably not bringing it up where it matters," said Nicole Serfass, a resident from Hamilton Township.
Back in March, three people died after state police say a tractor-trailer driving south on Route 33 crossed into the northbound lanes.
Years before that, in the same spot, another deadly crash killed a 21-year-old from Scranton.
Kirchner witnessed both wrecks and believes concrete barriers could have helped.
"Why can't they put a barrier up here? Why do they wanna put it down there and not up here? How many more people have to die here before something happens," said Kirchner.
People who live close to the highway say in addition to adding a concrete barrier along this stretch of Route 33, they'd also like to see a guide rail put up along the shoulder for their protection.
"They don't wanna put up a barrier here. They don't wanna put up anything across the here. What's to stop vehicles from coming up and hitting me? It's not right," said Kirchner.
"There have been two serious deaths, like two serious car accident deaths here, but they don't seem to care, said Serfass.
The work is expected to be finished in November.
There is no word on plans to add concrete barriers from Cherry Valley Road to Route 209 in the future.
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