Downed wires and a smashed traffic signal brought Lakewood’s already packed streets to a standstill Monday afternoon, after a truck ripped down live wires at Cedarbridge Avenue and Avenue of the States, then continued on to New Hampshire Ave. where it downed a traffic signal – just as many schools were letting students out.
The collapse has created a cascading traffic nightmare as cars and school buses pour into the streets during peak dismissal. Long lines of standstill vehicles stretched in every direction, trapping drivers with no alternate routes through the area.
Officials are urging drivers to avoid the area if at all possible as emergency teams work to clear the debris, address the downed wires, and bring a semblance traffic sanity back.
With no estimated reopening time and dismissal traffic still surging, delays are expected to ripple well into the evening.
