Parents and children crossed a bridge under reconstruction on Seven Bridges Road en route to Point Road School Thursday. A modular bridge will be installed to keep the route open to pedestrians throughout the project’s duration, police said. (Click to enlarge)
Even with a car fire throwing an additional wrench into the works, parents and police reported few problems getting their kids to Little’s Silver’s Point Road School Thursday morning.
On day one of both a new school year and new detours prompted by a two-month-old closure of Seven Bridges road for a bridge replacement, parents who drove their children to the elementary school had no immediate complaints about the task.
“Except for the car fire, it was fine,” said Mark Ostrowkski, who was making a drop-off after having done the same at the Markham Place middle school. “They’re doing a great job, considering the logistics of it all.”
Police reported no incidents in turning away motorists who had become accustomed to ignoring a barricade at Seven Bridges Road and Silverside Avenue, said police Chief Dan Shaffery.
As planned, that heightened enforcement of a local-traffic-only requirement eliminated traffic backups that typically occurred at the school during morning drop-offs, he said.
Parents also shrugged off a closure of southbound Prospect Avenue at Willow Drive.
A car fire on Willow Drive near Lovett Avenue, along the course of the Prospect Avenue detour, prompted yet another traffic diversion, resulting in heavy volume on Branch Avenue. Still, parents from both the north and south parts of town said traffic was moving steadily.
Details of the car fire were not immediately available.
[UPDATE, 11:20 a.m., from Detective Greg Oliva]:
On 9/6/2012 at 7:55am, the Little Silver Police and Fire Departments received a report of a vehicle on fire on Willow Drive between Amelia Circle and Lovett Avenue. Upon arrival, a small fire was found in the engine compartment of a 2001 Chrysler Sedan, being driven by Cathleen McGhee of Keansburg. The fire was knocked down with fire extinguishers by a Little Silver Department of Public Works Employee who was in the area at the time. The vehicle was disabled and was blocking the eastbound lane of Willow Drive, causing traffic to be diverted from eastbound Willow Drive for approximately 20 minutes, creating delays. The fire appeared to be caused by a mechanical malfunction with the vehicle. The roadway was re-opened by 8:20am after the vehicle was towed from the scene. The driver and passengers of the vehicle were not injured.
