Thursday evening storm update: Water main breaks and more (updated at 8 p.m.)
Representatives from New Jersey American Water said late this afternoon that there have been numerous water main breaks in the area because of the frigid temperatures. If you do not have water, it could be because of a water main break. Call NJ American Water at 1-800-272-1325 if you do not have water and want to confirm that a water main break is the cause, and not frozen pipes. To help keep your pipes from freezing, drip water from them.
More than 2,000 residents in South Brunswick lost power today because of downed trees and wires, but power was restored later in the day. Many residents in West Windsor reported intermittent, brief power outages throughout the day. No other major outages were reported in the region.
Public and private schools in Central New Jersey were closed today, with the exception of Rutgers University, which finally closed at 2 p.m. Municipal, county and state offices were also closed.
Police and tow trucks in the region continue to rescue stranded cars and deal with car crashes this evening. New Jersey State Police have responded so far today to 326 crashes and 730 motorists who were stranded on state highways. Police have urged drivers repeatedly not to drive in the poor weather conditions. A layer of ice underneath the snow has caused extremely hazardous driving conditions. Stay home tonight if you can. Snow drifts and icy conditions have made many roads impassable. High winds are expected to continue to blow snow back on to plowed roads. Police are telling residents to stay home tonight. Road crews will be working to try to clear roads.
The following roads were impassable in South Brunswick this afternoon and were still problematic by early evening: Route1, Route 32, Route 130, Route 535, Georges Road, Sandhill Road and Route 522.
As of 8 p.m., Route 1 has been cleared, but police still stress that roads are slippery and reduced speeds are required while traveling. Motorists should be alert for snow drifts on off ramps and side roads, police said.
In Princeton, Central Jersey will collect Thursday’s trash tomorrow (Friday, January 5). If they are unable to complete all collections on Friday, they will return on Saturday to complete the Thursday and Friday collections.They also have been provided with streets that were not collected earlier this week. They are scheduled to collect them on Friday or Saturday. Organic containers that were not collected on Wednesday will not be collected until next Wednesday, January 10.
Montgomery Township has postponed its annual reorganization meeting until Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. The Montgomery School Board reorganization has also been postponed and will be held at the board’s next regular business meeting.
School Closings
Mercer County Community College – delayed opening of 2 hours
East Windsor Regional Schools
Ewing Public Schools
Hamilton Public Schools
Hopewell Valley Regional
Hunterdon Central Regional – opening delayed 1.5 hours
Lawrence Schools
Mercer County Special Services School District
Monroe Township Public Shools
Montgomery Schools
North Brunswick Public Schools
Pennington School – delayed opening. All classes will begin at 9:30 a.m. School entrances and driveways will be closed until 9:15 a.m.
Princeton Public Schools
Princeton Charter School
Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart
Princeton Day School
South Brunswick Schools
Stuart Country Day
The Hun School
Trenton Schools
West Windsor-Plainsboro
Bordentown Regional – 2-hour delayed opening
Rutgers University has already announced a delayed opening for Friday. All of the campuses will open at 10 a.m.
At Princeton University’s DeNunzio Pool, morning rentals from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. and master swimming have been canceled for Friday.
Local, County and State Government Offices and Programs
The South Brunswick Township Municipal Building will open at 9:30 a.m.
Community Organizations
The Princeton Ballet School will be closed for morning classes Jan. 5th, and will post an update on the website www.arballet.org and Facebook page American Repertory Ballet at 1 p.m. regarding afternoon and evening classes.
Princeton Center for Yoga and Health hopes to open at 9:30 a.m.
The Princeton Family YMCA will have an 8 a.m. delayed opening Friday. All programs, classes and lessons beginning after 8 will run as regularly scheduled. Before care and after school programs follow the public school’s schedule, and therefore Montgomery Before Care and After School MASH programs have been canceled as well as Princeton MASH and Princeton Young Achievers (PYA) programs.
As soon as skating on Lake Carnegie is safe, we will post the news. Until then, please stay off the ice for your own safety and the safety of others.
We will post a list of cancellations and delayed openings for Friday as more information becomes available. To report a news tip, send a photo, or ask a question, email us at editor@planetprinceton.com.
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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
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