Last week’s catastrophic five-vehicle crash on Route 33 near the Saylorsburg exit of Route 33 in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, should be a wake-up call for transportation officials and police.

A southbound tractor-trailer went out of control, crossed into the northbound lanes resulting in the pileup which killed three and injured an unspecified number of others. The busy roadway that connects Interstate 80/Route 611 in Bartonsville with Route 22, then I-78 in the Lehigh Valley was shut down for hours.

I travel this road periodically to visit family in the Stroudsburg area. In fact, I was scheduled to have lunch with my son in East Stroudsburg on that very day that the crash occurred. Because of the expected slow-go on feeder roads, we postponed our luncheon to another day.

On several occasions, I kept track of all of the vehicles which passed me while I was going the legal speed limit (55 mph) plus six (61 mph). I passed no one, but every vehicle behind me passed me, some going an estimated 85 mph or higher.

In both directions between the Lehighton and Wind Gap interchanges, there are sharp curves. I have seen vehicles, including many tractor-trailers, traveling at a high rate of speed. Coming into some of these curves, they needed to brake hard to slow down. On several occasions, I saw tire tracks of rubber laid by vehicles avoiding a crash.

This stretch of Route 33 is extremely dangerous, and motorists should know better and slow down. Instead, they seem to be oblivious to the dangers, even during winter weather driving that has led to numerous crashes.

A traffic study of that section of Route 33 after three separate fatal crashes in 2010 found that more than half of the cars were speeding. In response to these crashes, police increased patrols. The state Department of Transportation looked into designating this portion of Route 33 as a “Highway Safety Corridor” to encourage driving at the speed limit. It would have meant that any motorist caught speeding in this designated area would pay a higher fine and stiffer penalty, but nothing ever came of it.

It seems to me that following this latest high-profile incident that now would be the perfect time to revisit this proposal.

There also should be an investigation as to whether some of the challenging curves should be re-engineered. This won’t be easy, given the roadway’s being surrounded by mountains on either side, but with today’s technology it is certainly doable.

The excuse that it is too expensive doesn’t hold much water, because how do you equate dollars and cents with human lives and the misery to the deceaseds’ families and loved ones.

The construction of Route 33 started in 1959 and originally stretched from Route 512 (the Wind Gap exit) to the Saylorsburg exit. The highway was then expanded in 1964 to connect to I-80/Route 611 in Bartonsville. Five years later, the road further expanded from Route 512 to Belfast (Henry Road) in Northampton County. Another two years passed before another small stretch was opened to Stockertown (Route 191) and extended to its then southern terminus, Route 22.

But it was Route 33’s connection from Route 22 to Interstate 78 in January 2002, along with a 2015 interchange addition at an industrial park in Palmer Township, that gave Route 33 its prominence.

This 26.7-mile Route 33 connector of interstates 78 and 80 is one of the most compelling reasons why the Lehigh Valley area has become a warehouse hub for the Northeast, a mixed blessing to be sure.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.