Downed Wires Partly Closed Pottersville Road In Chester: Police

CHESTER, NJ — A portion of Pottersville Road was shut down on Friday for almost seven hours because of downed wires, according to Chester Police Department.

The police department first alerted drivers to the incident between Hacklebarney Road and The Kay Center at about 7:52 a.m. The road reopened at about 2:27 p.m., police reported in a follow-up alert message.

Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) was called and a detour was set up to take drivers around the the issue, police said. The utility was unable to originally provide an estimated arrival time, as it was in "storm mode," Lt. Ronald Totams told Patch in an email at 11:45 a.m.

At that time, JCP&L had not yet arrived on scene or began repairs, Totams said. JCP&L did not post an estimated power restoration time available, noting “severe weather is causing power outages.”

"Furthermore, apparently wind is a factor in their response as crews have to wait until the wind subsides before they can safely perform their work up in the bucket trucks," Totams said JCP&L told the police department.

According to JCP&L’s website at noon, there were 1,499 customers without power in Morris County because of weather-related issues, with fewer than five in the borough and about 67 in the township.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.