Friday evening storm update: Most roads open again, but some remain closed due to severe storm damage, plus new photos (updated 6:15 p.m.)
Road openings
Most main roads have opened again in the Princeton region, but police caution that drivers should expect significant delays. NJ Transit is operating the Northeast Corridor train line on a regular schedule Friday. The River Line and buses are also running on a regular weekday schedule, but delays are possible.
Princeton
Mercer Road opened Friday afternoon. Washington Road is open in Princeton and West Windsor. Alexander Road is open in Princeton and West Windsor. Route 206 at the Stony Brook Bridge is now open. River Road is open in Princeton. Harrison Street is open. Rosedale Road is open. Route 27 is open again at the Kingston border.
Quaker Road between Mercer Street to the West Windsor border is still closed due to a large sinkhole. Police are asking that you do not go around the closed gate.
All roads in West Windsor and East Windsor are now open.
Lawrence
Route 1 is open northbound and southbound, with the exception of the northbound stretch of the highway from Strawberry Street in Trenton to 295 in Lawrence. Crews are making emergency repairs.
Princeton Pike is open as of Friday afternoon. Bakers Basin Road is closed from Greenberg Road to Lawrence Station Road. Basin Road is closed from Bakers Basin Road to the Hamilton Township border. Carnegie Road is closed from Brunswick Pike to Laura Avenue. Avoid the Brunswick Pike area and use Route 206 if you need to travel north.
Montgomery
Route 601 is closed between Route 518 and Main Boulevard due to bridge damage and the washout of portions of the roadway. The Great Road (Route 601) is closed between John Blaw Drive and Inverness Drive due to bridge damage and portions of the road being washed out. Hollow Road is closed between Grandview Road and Camp Meeting Avenue due to several portions of the pavement being washed out. Grandview Road is closed between Pin Oak Road and Hollow Road due to roadway washout, and Burnt Hill Road is closed between Lower Middle School and Skillman Road due to roadway washout. Route 533 (River Road is closed in Montgomery due to flooding, downed trees, and debris.
Rocky Hill
Canal Road is still closed in Rocky Hill and Franklin Township as of Friday. Don’t try to drive on Canal Road. Residents say people making attempts to drive on Canal Road are getting stuck in the mud and having to turn around. Route 518 is now open in Rocky Hill.
Franklin Township roads are now open with the exception of Canal Road and Weston Canal Road between School House Road and Cottontail Lane. Town officials have lifted the state of emergency there as of 1:30 p.m. The Franklin Township Friday Fall Nights Concert has been postponed.
Tornado information
The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday afternoon that a tornado touched down in Princeton on Wednesday. More details are expected today about the tornado’s path. Stay tuned.
Boom, boom
No, you didn’t image that booming noise and the shaking at about 1 a.m. on Friday. It wasn’t an earthquake. There was a large explosion at a building in Manville, which is about 16 miles from Princeton. The Saffron Banquet Hall on South Main Street caught on fire. Because of the flooding and storm damage in Manville, firefighters had trouble getting to and putting out several fires there, including that one.
Four area residents die during flash flooding
As we wrote on Thursday, a woman from Chile who was living in Ringoes, a Belle Mead woman, and two other motorists who were stuck in their vehicles in Hopewell Township died during the flash flooding on Wednesday night. The identities of the two people who died in Hopewell have not been released yet. We expect that information today or over the weekend. Our condolences to the family and friends of the storm victims.
Police and other emergency responders worked to rescue dozens of stranded drivers across the region on Wednesday night.
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.
Your updates are greatly appreciated. The timing of this morning’s update could not have been more perfect; I am due to travel on 295 south to visit my family. Thank you
So my question is why did Princeton University tell employees they had to work on that morning? Every government agency said to stay off the roads and the university tells us to come to work. I had to go through flooded and dangerous roads!
Over the 40 years I worked there, PU went from a college whose employees mostly lived close to work, to a huge employer with a lot of staff who couldn’t afford to live close to work. The economy of the region completely changed and housing prices exploded. Unfortunately their policies for workers never evolved accordingly. Your only option would be to use vacation time. No, it isn’t fair. They don’t care.
Am a Princetonian in (unfolded) Vermont for the summer. Very much appreciate the visual “news” of these photographs as we worry from afar.