Route 3 reopens in Secaucus after dump truck knocks down wires
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SECAUCUS, N.J. -- A crash involving a dump truck caused major delays Wednesday morning on Route 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Chopper 2 was over the scene, where it appeared the truck took down multiple wires and utility poles.
The roadway was shut down in both directions between Paterson Plank Road and the New Jersey Turnpike's Eastern Spur.
PSE&G crews were on the scene for hours to free the truck from the wires and make repairs.
Route 3 reopens
Video from Chopper 2 Wednesday morning showed the mess.
The dump truck's dump box, or dump body, could be seen raised up. Its contents spilled into the road, and wires were entangled.
It happened around 6:30 a.m., and hours later they were still working to clean it up.
Both sides of Route 3 between Paterson Plank Road and the New Jersey Turnpike Eastern Spur had been closed. They reopened just in time for the evening rush.
It had been a headache for drivers, and just plain bad for businesses in the area.
"We were so surprised when we came in this morning, because there was no power, no nothing," a liquor store owner said. He estimated he lost $500-$1000 in business due to the outage.
PSE&G said it finished the main work around 2 p.m.
Highway closed, hundreds without power
The highway remained closed in both directions as of noon Wednesday, and utility crews were still on the scene.
Route 46 and 208 are drivers' best alternates to get around the area.
The crash not only impacted traffic, but several hundred customers also lost power.
PSE&G has been working to restore them since.
There's no timeframe on when the highway will reopen.