FAIR HAVEN: CRASH SHUTS ROAD
Fair Haven police expected a portion of Hance Road to be closed overnight Sunday for utility repairs after a car struck a pole near Third Street around 3:30 p.m., police said.
RED BANK: POLE DOWNED ON BROAD STREET
A pedestrian suffered minor injuries when she was hit by falling debris as a FedEx truck exiting the Red Bank Post Office caught overhead wires and pulled a utility pole down on Broad Street at about 4:40 p.m. Thursday, according to police Chief Darren McConnell.
RED BANK: A LITTLE LIBRARY, ON A POLE
Judi Pack’s ‘Little Free Library, decorated for Halloween. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)
By SARAH KLEPNER
Judi Pack wants kids to love books so much that she has installed a permanent, weather-proof bookshelf, known as a Little Free Library, in the front yard of her Red Bank home.
It is indeed a little, free library: passersby and neighbors of all ages can take a book or leave one for others. Even better, there is no obligation to return a book once taken.
It’s a logical step for a woman who has dedicated 40 years to early childhood education, including seven years in Middletown. Pack has taught pre-kindergarten and early primary school, and instructed the teachers of these age groups as well.
“We’ve made a fetish of learning to read, instead of encouraging kids to love books,” Pack said in a recent interview at her home, at 170 Hudson Avenue.
RED BANK: DRIVER ESCAPES DOWNED WIRES
Electrical wire burned on the ground and on the lip of a raised dumptruck bin after an accident at Red Bank Recycling on Central Avenue in Red Bank that took down a utility pole around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. The driver of the truck, whose identity was not immediately known, did not appear to be seriously injured, but was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Power was knocked out locally. (Click to enlarge)
RED BANK POWER RESTORATION CONTINUES
A map issued by the Red Bank Office of Emergency Management late Tuesday afternoon shows, in yellow, areas of town that have been restored to full electrical service.
At right, Verizon workers replace one of two fallen utility pole on Washington Street that have inhibited the return of electrical service to Red Bank’s East Side, officials said. At 4 p.m., a Verizon worker said the second pole would be up and ready for JCP&L to do its thing within the hour. (Photo at right by Rebecca Desfosse. Click to enlarge)
NO INJURIES IN LITTLE SILVER CAR V. POLE
Strange physics appear to have been at work as an SUV smacked a utility pole in Little Silver and ended up wedged between the pole and a street sign at around 3:40 p.m. Friday. There were no injuries in the one-vehicle crash, which occurred on Branch Avenue at Bennett Lane. (Click to enlarge)
SINGLE-LANE REOPENING PLANNED
A towrig pulls a stranded car from the snow while utility crews work on the opposite side of West Front Street at 3:30p Wednesday. (Click to enlarge)
A utility pole replacement job continued to vex motorists traveling through Red Bank Wednesday, adding to woes dominated by icy streets and snowpile-narrowed driving lanes.
DETOUR EXPECTED FOR A.M. DRIVE TIME
Westbound traffic was diverted from West Front Street onto Broad Street Tuesday evening, above, jamming up downtown Red Bank. Below, eastbound vehicles lined up on Monmouth Street. (Click to enlarge)
Work to replace a busted utility pole on busy West Front Street may not be completed until midday Wednesday, meaning motorists could face another glacial morning crawl through Red Bank.
A shutdown of a portion of West Front to enable JCP&L crews to replace the pole, which shattered during the blizzard Sunday night, led to massive traffic jams Tuesday morning, with inbound traffic backed up onto the Route 35/Cooper Bridge to Middletown.
By the evening commute, a repeat appeared in the making.
POLE DOWN ON WEST FRONT
Authorities left West Front Street open despite the presence of a fallen utility pole to maintain roadway access to Riverview Medical Center. Below, the aftermath of a train-versus-van accident at the Monmouth Street grade crossing. (Click to enlarge)
A utility pole and a couple of vehicles appear to have been the only victims of a raging blizzard that swept through Red Bank Sunday night.
Police Captain Darren McConnell said the pole, opposite Riverside Gardens Park, snapped sometime overnight, leaving it leaning heavily on connecting wires and blocking the eastbound lane. Officials from Jersey Central Power & light were unable to say when the pole would be replaced, McConnell said.
Meantime, McConnell said, a determination was made that the pole was safe for vehicles to pass.
POLES APART
A power company crew was on the scene at midday Thursday. (Click to enlarge)
Three days after redbankgreen reported that a jury-rigged utility pole was again leaning precariously over Broad Street in Red Bank, a Jersey Central Power & Light/First Energy crew arrived on the scene earlier today to begin fixing it.
Coincidence? We don’t think so.
