DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. — Road closed and detour signs remain at the intersection of Mountain Road and Route 611 in Delaware Water Gap.
It's been like this since December when a rockslide closed a three-mile stretch of Route 611 from Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County to Portland in Northampton County.
Business owners have been feeling the impact.
"We're losing our bread and butter with the summer, you know, and now we're going to roll into fall with what? No promise of it being open," said Lauren Chamberlain, owner of Asparagus Sunshine.
In December, PennDOT officials said it would take six months to complete repair work.
However, because the section of Route 611 where the rockslide happened cuts through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the National Park Service has a say on how work gets completed.
The National Park Service requires a special-use permit to complete the work.
NPS officials confirmed to Newswatch 16 they received PennDOT's revised permit application on Friday, July 21.
In a statement to Newswatch 16, Kathleen Sandt, a National Park Service spokesperson, explained the federal regulations involved and why the permit process is important:
"The NPS is required to do our due diligence to evaluate projects that could have an impact on park resources ... During this process; we will look at what the potential impacts could be, what alternatives may exist, and ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any negative impacts on park resources."
PennDOT officials say once the permit is issued, it will be 30 days until work can begin to remove rocks in danger of falling. After that, PennDOT expects to reopen the road to one lane.
"Federal government, we need you to approve them. We need you to put them a priority, and we need these seven months plus to stop. We need you to treat this as it was in the beginning, which is an emergency," said State Senator Rosemary Brown, (R) 40th district.
Sen. Brown and PennDOT have secured $3.5 million in emergency funds to help pay for the work.
Reopening the road to one lane is the first part of the two-phase project.
The National Park Service is still reviewing the application.
There is currently no time frame on when work will start or if this stretch of Route 611 will be open by the end of the year.