Three Month Road Closure Postponed

Marshalls Creek, Monroe County - A major construction project has been postponed in the Poconos and that has some business owners breathing big sighs of relief.

Kelly Howard who owns Kelly's Bagels and Deli was glad to hear a major construction project in Marshalls Creek was pushed back from August to September. She said,"It's a good thing for the local businesses that rely on the out of state or tourists coming through."

Her business is in Jay Park Plaza. It's a plaza that will be hard to reach when PennDOT closes Seven Bridge Road to fix a bridge. "We just gotta pray and have faith that everything is going to be ok," said Juan Marable who owns After Hours Cutz Barber Shop.

The bridge will be closed for three months. When business owners heard the project was supposed to start in August, the complained that it would cut into the busy tourism seson. So PennDOT agreed to start after Labor Day. Marable said,"It's a great thing they pushed it back."

But some business owners that count on locals rather than on tourists say this isn't going to help very much. Victor Hellstrom runs For Your Health Medical Supply. He said, "I think that pushing back the date is just delaying the obvious."

Hellstrom expects many of his customers will be confused by a winding detour. He said, "They'll have to call because most people would not realize how to come to our area."

But PennDOT insists the work needs to be done in a hurry so the community will have to adjust. Marable said,"It has to be fixed. So if it has to be fixed it's gotta be done."