By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Thursday, January 11, 2024 (Updated at 12 noon)
It's not surprising that the Millstone River flooded during Tuesday's storm, spewing water onto the two Montgomery Township roads named for the river—Millstone-River Road (Route 533) and River Road (Route 605) on Wednesday.
Despite the high water, at least two drivers attempted to navigate the deep water, and were thankfully helped by first responders when their vehicles became stranded in the torrents.
Photographs by Barbara A. Preston. (Click arrow above to view all photos.)
On January 10 at 7:20 am, Montgomery Police, Fire Company No. 2, MEMS, and the Rocky Hill Fire Department responded to River Road, County Route 605, near the border of Princeton for a motor vehicle stranded in the flooded roadway.
Xiaoping Jin of Princeton, the driver of a 2007 Toyota Camry, had escaped from his vehicle to dry land with the assistance of a NJ State Police Trooper who had come across the incident. The driver was treated by Montgomery EMS and transported to a local hospital for hypothermia, according to police. Jin was issued a summons for driving on a closed roadway and is scheduled to appear in Montgomery municipal court.
Also on January 10, Montgomery police found a vehicle stranded in the water on River Road (Route 533) by the Griggstown Causeway. Police, Montgomery Fire Companies No. 1 and No. 2 responded and used a high-water-rescue vehicle to collect the driver from the vehicle.
The driver, Varsha Chandola, of Bound Brook, denied medical attention and was issued a summons for careless driving.
Throughout the duration of the storm, Montgomery Township police officers stopped and issued multiple summons to drivers who drove around and ignored “Road Closed” signs and barricades. Montgomery police officers once again remind motorists to adhere to all posted signs and not to drive through flooded roadways.
Somerset County officials declared a state of emergency late Tuesday night, and the Millstone River reached major flood status at 15.94 feet at Griggstown on Wednesday at 2:45 pm. The average depth is about 6 feet. Flooding occurs at 10 feet.
Multiple Montgomery Township and Griggstown roads were closed due to flooding, fallen trees, and downed wires.
Data on the Millstone River at Griggstown from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Pike Run at Belle Mead also achieved major flood stage, rising to 9.06 feet. The normal depth is about 3 to 4 feet.
Data on the Pike Run at Belle Mead from the U.S. Geological Survey.
As of Thursday morning, about 15 people in Montgomery Township and about five people in Griggstown remained without power, after sustaining wind speeds of 43 mph, according to the Rutgers NJ Weather Network, which has monitoring stations in Hopewell and Hillsborough. The stations recorded from 2.6 to 2.7 inches of rain on Tuesday.
Peak outages hit 120,000 overnight throughout New Jersey. About 400 people in Montgomery were without power, and the Montgomery Library was filled to capacity on Wednesday with people seeking warmth and WiFi connections.
PSE&G had reported 1,127 customers without power on Wednesday in Bound Brook, Franklin, Hillsborough, and Montgomery.
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— COUNTY ROUTE 605 & BLUE SPRING ROAD REOPENED
-CR 533 (River Road) was closed from Bridgepoint to Dead Tree Run Road (Flooding)
-CR 533 (River Road) was closed North of Griggstown Road (Flooding)
-Griggstown Causeway Closed (Flooding)
-Sunset Road was closed from Route 206 to Burnt Hill Road (Wires)
-Sycamore Ave from 206 to Robin Drive (Wires) was closed
-Dutchtown Zion West of 601 (Flooding) was closed
-Grandview was closed at the bridge to Hollow with trees down.
-The traffic light was out at Route 206 and Cherry Valley Road.
In the past two days, Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Co. #1 firefighters say they have responded to a motor vehicle crash requiring extrication, wires down, electrical hazards, a fire in Hillsborough, and a water rescue on River Road amongst other alarms.
First responders warn: "Please continue to use caution on roadways due to ongoing flooding,"
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