Can someone comment on a commute from Bethlehem to Stroudsburg (Allentown: home, employment)

[plantman77]

Hey all. Considering taking a job in Stroudsburg area. I currently live in downtown Bethlehem and currently work in Allentown. Is the traffic very bad going up North 33 during rush hour? Used to make a commute between Wilkes Barre and Allentown, never again. Don't want to repeat the same mistake. Thanks

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by plantman77

Hey all. Considering taking a job in Stroudsburg area. I currently live in downtown Bethlehem and currently work in Allentown. Is the traffic very bad going up North 33 during rush hour? Used to make a commute between Wilkes Barre and Allentown, never again. Don't want to repeat the same mistake. Thanks

The commuting traffic from where 78 & 33 hit to Stroudsburg isn't bad at all. There is an occasional slowdown due to construction (and there is construction where 22 hits 33) or accidents, but it's not bad during commuting times. I have a few neighbors that commute into Stroudsburg and they have never complained of traffic.

[briantroutman]

I've never traveled that route as a daily commute, but I once lived in the Lehigh Valley and have travelled the PA 33 corridor countless times, and I never experienced any traffic troubles along that route.

And Google Maps seems to corroborate my experience. If you're unaware: On Google Maps, you can view typical traffic conditions and calculate average driving times for any time on any day of the week. And the entire route from Bethlehem to Stroudsburg is highlighted in green (i.e. normal traffic speed) at both 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on every weekday. The route works out to about 38 miles and 38 minutes. I'll leave it up to you do determine whether that's a reasonable commute or not.

Then again, excepting the occasional (and usually unforeseeable) accident or construction project, I've never had problems with rush hour traffic on I-476 between Wilkes-Barre and Allentown either. It's just a long drive. Sure, you'd have to contend with gridlock once you exit the Turnpike and get onto US 22, but you'd have to deal with that same traffic if you were commuting from Fogelsville—you just wouldn't have been driving for nearly an hour prior to that point.

So bottom line: A commute from Bethlehem to Stroudsburg should take about half as long as Wilkes-Barre to Allentown, and traffic is free-flowing most of the time. But that said, it is still a fairly long commute, and an accident or construction project could possibly throw a wrench in the works. And depending on where exactly you're coming from in Bethlehem and where you're going to in Stroudsburg, you might encounter some traffic at the very beginning or end of your journey. If you're averse to long commutes in general (which seems to be the case given your frustration over your past experience), you might want to weigh that heavily against whatever benefit you might gain from the Stroudsburg job.

Good luck!

[JohnZ963]

It should be fine. It's sort of a reverse commute as there isn't much professional employment in the Stroudsburg area. The worst part would probably be Route 22 westbound in the evening rush going home which backs up as far east as 512 or 191 sometimes, but not always. You can use mapping apps to figure out if there is a backup before you leave work and use that info to decide which exit to get off 22 en route to downtown Bethlehem.

[plantman77]

Thanks for all the replies. Made the trip yesterday to meet with the company. The trip home at 5 PM was almost exactly 45 minutes, not terrible. I wouldn't ever recommend the commute from Wilkes to Allentown, almost no traffic but too much driving for me. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing a crazy amount of traffic but it looks to be minimal.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by JohnZ963

It should be fine. It's sort of a reverse commute as there isn't much professional employment in the Stroudsburg area.

There is an estimate of annual traffic for Northampton and Lehigh Valley.
http://www.lvpc.org/pdf/maps/estimat...ighways-LV.pdf

Northampton county busiest traffic is route 22. Second place is Interstate 78. Third is the 2.33 mile stretch of route 33 between Walmart on route 248 and route 22.