Crystal
06-14-2005, 12:41 PM
A 16-mile stretch of the Northway between Exits 23 and 25 will be closed for days or even weeks after a mudslide Monday night brought on by heavy rains, the Warren County sheriff said this morning.
The slide around 9 p.m. blocked some 100 vehicles on the interstate highway, and about 40 cars, tractor trailers and buses were forced to back up a half-mile on the dark, rain-soaked highway, make a U-turn and detour along Route 9.
Sheriff Larry Cleveland said people were cooperative and no injuries were reported.
Horicon, Bolton Landing, Chestertown and Warrensburg bore the brunt of the bad weather, officials said, with about 40 residents displaced. The American Red Cross sheltered 20 to 25 people in a local school.
"We don't have a damage assessment at this point," said Tom Harig of the Warren County Office of Emergency Services, speaking from a command post at the Bolton Fire Station on Route 9N.
In Bolton Landing, a water main ruptured, leaving an estimated 2,000 people without water, Harig said. Residents without water should bring empty jugs to Veterans Memorial Park on Route 9N in Bolton Landing, where tankers will be stationed later today, he said.
On the Northway, both northbound lanes were washed out, and the two southbound lanes were littered with dirt and boulders.
The closure means about 13,000 vehicles in both directions will be routed onto local roads, mainly state Routes 8 and 9.
"This does not often happen, which speaks to the magnitude of the storm," said Peter Van Keuren, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "It's fairly major."
Warren County roads that remain closed include County Routes 10 and 11; Schroon River Road; Valley Woods Road; and Finkle Road.
The slide around 9 p.m. blocked some 100 vehicles on the interstate highway, and about 40 cars, tractor trailers and buses were forced to back up a half-mile on the dark, rain-soaked highway, make a U-turn and detour along Route 9.
Sheriff Larry Cleveland said people were cooperative and no injuries were reported.
Horicon, Bolton Landing, Chestertown and Warrensburg bore the brunt of the bad weather, officials said, with about 40 residents displaced. The American Red Cross sheltered 20 to 25 people in a local school.
"We don't have a damage assessment at this point," said Tom Harig of the Warren County Office of Emergency Services, speaking from a command post at the Bolton Fire Station on Route 9N.
In Bolton Landing, a water main ruptured, leaving an estimated 2,000 people without water, Harig said. Residents without water should bring empty jugs to Veterans Memorial Park on Route 9N in Bolton Landing, where tankers will be stationed later today, he said.
On the Northway, both northbound lanes were washed out, and the two southbound lanes were littered with dirt and boulders.
The closure means about 13,000 vehicles in both directions will be routed onto local roads, mainly state Routes 8 and 9.
"This does not often happen, which speaks to the magnitude of the storm," said Peter Van Keuren, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "It's fairly major."
Warren County roads that remain closed include County Routes 10 and 11; Schroon River Road; Valley Woods Road; and Finkle Road.