Hopewell Township police think Delaware has crested

Five homes on River Drive and one on Route 29 in Titusville have been evacuated.

By John Tredrea
   Route 29, which runs along Hopewell Township’s western border within sight of the Delaware River, was closed between Hunterdon County and Hamilton Township due to flooding at noon today.
   "The river appears to have crested," said Capt. George Meyer of the Hopewell Township Police Department on his cell phone from his post near the Washington Crossing Bridge, which connects the Titusville area with Washington Crossing, Pa.
   Capt. Meyer said the river was within 2 feet of the bottom of the bridge, which has been closed since 11 a.m. Sunday, after heavy rains hit the area over the weekend.
   Pleasant Valley Road also is closed in Hopewell Township, as are the north and south ends of River Drive. Pleasant Valley Road intersects Route 29 from the east in the northern section of the township. River Drive is the main street of Titusville Village, which overlooks the Delaware from a high bank.
   "We can’t say yet when the bridge or roads might reopen, " Capt. Meyer said just before noon. "The river hasn’t started to go down yet. It will have to go down several feet before anything can reopen."
   He said the river is higher than it was at its highest point during last September’s flood. Unavailable now is an estimate of how much higher.
   No injuries resulted from the flooding, police said. Five homes on River Drive and one on Route 29 have been evacuated. "The damage is being assessed now," said Capt. Meyer, adding that a dollar estimate of the damage is not yet available.
   Volunteers from Union Fire Company and the Pennington Fire Company worked through Sunday filling sandbags, putting them around homes threatened by the rising waters and helping people who were evacuated move furniture and other belongings to safe places.
   "The volunteers worked tirelessly," Capt. Meyer said. "They did a fantastic job."
   All the evacuees are staying with friends or relatives, he said.