Superintendent John Donahue has announced that emergency work will begin next week to stabilize the Bushkill Creek streambank along Route 209, just across from the Bushkill Meeting Center parking lot.

Approximately 200 linear feet of streambank along Route 209 will be stabilized with rip-rap stone in order to prevent the undermining and eventual washout of the roadway. Accomplishing these emergency repairs now will prevent longer closures later.

Three major storms in two years combined with the most recent heavy rainstorms have seriously eroded the streambank along the sides of the Bushkill Creek. This section is the most seriously threatened and all vegetative support has been lost. Severe undermining of Route 209 could occur if this section of the streambank is not repaired before the next high water event.

In order to perform this work, Route 209 will be closed to all traffic from 8 am to 4 pm each weekday starting Tuesday March 25. Work hours may be extended beyond 4 pm, depending upon the progress of the work. Traffic will be detoured onto Creek Road and Winona Falls Road. Variable message signs have been erected along Route 209, informing motorists of the closure that will start on Tuesday. Route 209 will be barricaded at Bushkill Bridge and at the South Contact Station.

The target completion date is Friday, April 4. The Park will update their Public Information Hotline, 570-426-2492, as soon as the repairs are completed and the road is re-opened.