Flooding conditions cause traffic issues around Passaic County

Portions of Route 23 in Wayne are closed or down from three lanes to just one due to the pooling of water on the busy highway.

Joti Rekhi

Jan 11, 2024, 1:33 AM

Updated 335 days ago

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Major delays are being felt on the roadways in Passaic County after Tuesday night’s storm caused flooding.
Portions of Route 23 in Wayne are closed or down from three lanes to just one due to the pooling of water on the busy highway. Some cars came to a crawl as they navigated the new traffic pattern.
“It gets pretty bad. I also live by the mall and the whole street gets covered in water as soon as the river goes up,” said Moad Hraiemel, of Wayne.
Several businesses on the busy highway closed their doors to possible customers for the day. The floodwaters reached up to the front steps of a motorcycle shop on Route 23.
“It’s actually been pretty hectic. I work on Hamburg Turnpike [which] is backed up. The dam that’s over there is opened, so it flooded out,” said Andrew Singh. “Even just trying to get around anybody has been hectic and crazy."
Traveling around the area has been a headache for commuters trying to get to work and school. Marc Gargas and his friends said the water reached the top of his tire on some roadways.
“It’s been pretty miserable in the mornings. This morning, I was supposed to get to school at 9 a.m. I woke up at 8 a.m. I got to school at 11 a.m. It was terrible. A lot of flooding,” said Gargas. “First it was that flooding earlier. Then it was the snow. Now it’s this flooding. And then again there’s something again this weekend apparently.”
Another round of rain is expected in New Jersey Friday evening into Saturday. This storm is also expected to cause some flooding.