By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
A few roads remained closed and some local residents were still without power Monday evening after flooding and downed trees and utility poles caused by torrential rain and high winds resulted in myriad road closures, intermittent power outages, and damage to houses and cars throughout the area, according to area police.
Quaker Road in the Princeton Township, Alexander Street in Princeton Borough and sections of Route 571 in West Windsor Township were still closed as of press time Monday due to hanging or downed wires, and some residents were still without power. However, no injuries were reported in any of the municipalities.
Even the Princeton Borough police station lost power for approximately 20 minutes Saturday, with 911 calls having to be handled by the township department, according to Borough Police Lt. David Dudeck. The affected transformer was eventually repaired by Public Service Electric & Gas Co.
The utility company was still busy Monday attending to the numerous electrical lines that had fallen into the road as well as installing temporary wires for the residents of Castle Howard Court in Princeton Township who were still without power, according to Township Engineer Bob Kiser.
Princeton Township Police Capt. Robert Buchanan, who opened the township’s emergency operations center “on a very limited basis” on Saturday, said the high number of downed trees was likely due to “damp ground plus high winds.”
On Monday morning, both the north and southbound lanes of Route 206 in Princeton Township were closed because a tree was tangled with a wire that was smoldering. The Princeton Fire Department responded to the scene to supervise the site, which was later reopened.
Over the weekend, a falling tree took down wires on Route 206 at Hutchinson Road, where a car then crashed into the tree, Capt. Buchanan said.
In West Windsor, one section of Route 571 in the Penns Neck area was cleared at 6:30 a.m. after having been closed due to a downed power line, but commuters still dealt with circuitous detour routes on Monday morning.
West Windsor Police Chief Joseph Pica said PSE&G officials informed the township that the remaining work would not be completed until midnight.
Plainsboro Township officials said they had no weather-related traffic issues, but police in both Princeton and Montgomery townships said the storm caused several false alarm activations, including burglar and fire alarms.
The Griggstown Causeway in Montgomery Township was also closed over the weekend due to flooding.
Staff writers Greg Forester and Katie Wagner contributed to this story.
