Just over a week old, the Sgt. Andrew J. "AJ" Baddick Memorial Bridge in Jim Thorpe is drawing mostly rave reviews.

Carrying Route 903 (North Street) across the Lehigh River, the bridge is almost 1,000 feet upstream from the one it is replacing and has made for a smooth traffic flow, according to Jim Thorpe borough officials."You get on the bridge easy, you get off the bridge easy ... I've been getting good remarks," said Councilman Jay Miller.Police Chief Joe Schatz said his department has been monitoring the traffic flow at the bridge each day since its July 1 opening.One of the key contributors to the smooth transition has been the traffic light at Route 903 and Route 209.Unlike the old bridge, when the traffic light at that intersection was on a timer and changed no matter how many vehicles were going in a certain direction, the new light uses an infrared camera to detect backups."If there is nobody waiting on Route 903, it will stay green and the Route 209 traffic will keep flowing," Schatz said. "That's been really nice."Mayor Michael Sofranko said the bridge and its corresponding traffic patterns have gone a long way toward relieving congestion in the downtown area."Really, the one problem we are down to is the backups getting in and out of the county parking lot," Sofranko said. "If we could solve that, I'm not saying traffic would never back up, but it would be a lot easier getting around Jim Thorpe. When you get past that lot, it's been clear sailing."On Facebook, the positive reviews were also evident."Drove over the 903 bridge and it was good to say that I wasn't bumping up and down and swaying," posted Fred Cannon Sr. of Nesquehoning.Residents on River Street, meanwhile, are happy for the peace and quiet.Motorists had to travel River Street, from North Street, to cross the old Route 903 bridge."So blessed the new bridge is open," posted Roseann Turek. "I won't miss dozens of Harleys and ambulance sirens driving by my place. Silence is golden."There is no traffic light exiting the east side of the bridge and that has caused a few concerns for motorists coming from Main Street and the Leisureland development."You can't come to that stop line and have a good view," Schatz said. "You have to pull up almost to the end of the bridge before you shoot out of there. That's something we're going to have to watch."The borough also began using a new traffic pattern to go along with the bridge opening.Traffic is now routed one way on Front Street from North to Center Street when both lanes are active again down to the Jim Thorpe Market.Second Street also one way from Center to North Street."We've had some violations with the new one way restrictions, but that will be normal with it just changing," Schatz said. "We'll give a little adjustment period and then start cracking down."Miller reported Thursday night that several trees on Third and Fourth streets had to be trimmed back to give motorists a better line of sight pulling onto North Street.According to Public Works Supervisor Vince Yaich, the original agreements when the trees were planted put the responsibility on the property owner to maintain them."We'll send those property owners a letter, reminding them of that fact and giving them a chance to do it on their own or have the borough come do it and we would bill them for it," Borough Manger Maureen Sterner said.