Heavy Rains Force Road and Bridge Closures in Northeast
Heavy rains are flooding northeastern states, forcing road and bridge closures in New Jersey, upstate New York and Pennsylvania, where as many as 100,000 people around Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre are being evacuated along the Susquehanna River.
The Schuylkill Expressway leading into Philadelphia was closed part of Thursday by a rockslide and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that ramps to the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Fort Washington, Kelly and Lincoln drives in the city were also closed due to flooding, as were parts of Route 73 and Route 130.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike was closed late Thursday afternoon between Reading and Harrisburg. It was reopened Friday.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that 162 roads in his state have been closed due to flooding, the Newark Star Ledger reported. Among them was Route 29 north of Trenton, which had been reopened Sunday after earlier damage from Hurricane Irene.
Evacuations are underway on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides of the Delaware River which is overflowing its banks, forcing state workers in Trenton to leave the city.
In upstate New York, the state Department of Transportation reopened four bridges spanning the Mohawk River in Schenectady County after closing them for about two hours on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Reopened are the Interstate 890 bridge in Rotterdam Junction; the Western Gateway bridge in Schenectady; Freeman’s Bridge between Schenectady and Glenville; and the Rexford Bridge, which carries Route 146 traffic between Schenectady and Clifton Park.
Raines from Irene caused major damage to all three states two weeks ago. The latest drenching is caused by the tropical storm Lee driven north from the Gulf states.
