Buckling roadway in North Haledon, N.J., remains closed 2 weeks after suffering storm damage

A busy road in North Haledon, New Jersey, is still shut down after it buckled during a storm in late July.

The now-closed section of Saw Mill Road has cracks through the rubberized sealant, bumps on the pavement and even a gaping hole exposing underground piping.

"The water overwhelmed the storm drain, and it flooded all around it," North Haledon Mayor Randy George said. "The contractor has been hired, and he's gonna start probably in a week or so ... It's an inconvenience, but the repair will be permanent."

The mayor estimates the road will be fixed by the end of August. For now, residents and delivery drivers have to loop around on another side street.

Resident Nicole Gorter says she's been living in North Haledon for most of her life, and she's seen homes flood more in recent years.

"Definitely here, this is not what I saw as a kid and growing up," she said.

George, who has been mayor for 28 years, says so-called "50-year storms" seem to happen a lot more frequently these days.

That frequent flooding has neighbors wondering – why not just update the aging infrastructure underground?

The mayor says it isn't that easy, nor is it affordable.

"You have to do the entire length of the pipes that go to the Passaic River," George said.

That means updating underground pipes in neighboring towns.

"No one's doing a joint project for storm water," George said. "We would need millions of dollars, and right now, the federal government is not giving out any money."

But if rainy weather persists, so do Gorter's fears that Saw Mill Road will buckle even more and impact nearby homes.

"I think it's just gonna really, truly, progressively get worse until it's fixed and fixed the right way and not just a Band-Aid slapped on it," she said.