The Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers opposes the current PennDOT plan to improve and expand Interstate 80 within the bounds of Monroe County, specifically in and around East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg, PA.
Upon investigation into the public records for planning for this project, PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration prepared a design plan which failed to include meaningful public dialogue, happened without public notice or public meetings, and without notifying regional and local politicians of their designs, plan, and intentions. Both PennDOT and the FHA have performed the bare minimum required by law with minimal oversight and have conducted their plans in secrecy failing to respond to regional and governmental requests for information.
While the Interstate 80 expansion project is designed to “… improve existing levels of service and overall traffic operations and safety. In addition, new signing, pavement markings, guide rail, and drainage will be provided[1],” it is unclear as to what the need is in this East Stroudsburg area and how this expansion will benefit East Stroudsburg. Public records show the population of East Stroudsburg has been in a steady decline since 2018 at a rate of 2.4% annually.
Expanding Interstate 80 does not appear to solve or provide solutions to local traffic and congestion issues, will disrupt access to local residents and businesses because of the closure of the interchange, and will cause traffic congestion and possible gridlock on local roads.
The plans appear to disregard local, state, and federal laws regarding environmental and habitat protections, will build on protected wetlands without inclusion of a buffer zone, encroach on local waterways, disturb a Native American Artifact Site, and increase pollution. Stroudsburg’s protected wetlands and other sensitive areas will be most affected by the Interstate expansion.
The Interstate 80 expansion project does not appear to have a real plan or intention to help resolve or address local traffic issues, but rather to improve the efficiency of trucks and single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) traveling between Scranton and Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and New York City. Even then the project fails to provide meaningful volume or congestion relief on the Interstate 80 corridor and encourages SOVs and trucks at a total project cost of almost one billion dollars.
The Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers does not believe the Interstate 80 project will provide meaningful congestion or traffic relief and will cause undue and unnecessary environmental harm to a sensitive area of the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains and the Delaware River.
Instead, DVARP believe that PennDOT, the Monroe County Transportation Authority (MCTA), the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, and the Federal Railroad Administration alongside the State of New Jersey and New Jersey Transit to invest in and restore the former Lackawanna Cut-off, an existing railroad right-of-way of the former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (often called the Lackawanna) which connects Scranton, Pennsylvania to New York City and passes through East Stroudsburg, which historically had a passenger station on the line.
The estimated cost to restore the entire line between Scranton and New York City is $551 million, almost half the cost of the three-mile Interstate 80 expansion project. Approximately 2,500 cars per day would be removed from the Interstate 80 corridor when passenger service is restored.
Unlike the highway expansion which will require the acquisition of adjacent lands, will cause impacts and disruption to sensitive environmental areas, and will induce SOV demand, the restoration of passenger rail will use largely existing and operable railroad rights of way, will reduce reliance on Interstate 80 and SOVs, will bolster the local economy and economic activity encouraging economic growth and development, and will protect environmentally sensitive areas.
DVARP believes that while the Interstate 80 highway expansion project in Monroe County is intended to reduce congestion and improve efficiency, it will not do so and will cause environmental harm. Restoration of regular passenger rail service along the former Lackawanna Railroad is cost effective, will reduce traffic congestion, improve local economic activity, expand transit access, and encourage tourism and tourist trade activity. It is a more cost-effective investment than interstate highway expansion and will serve a much broader population than the interstate highway ever could.
Respectfully Submitted,
Edward Bombaro,
President.
Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers