Crime & Safety

Most Major Borough Roads Open

Although Main Street (Route 412) in Hellertown was closed earlier between Easton Road and Penn Street it has reopened to traffic. Walnut Street remains closed at the Saucon Creek bridge. Downtown Hellertown remains without power.

UPDATE, 3pm: Power is being restored in much of Hellertown, however outages remain spotty, and with the forecast for continued high winds throughout the day there may be more isolated outages occurring throughout the Saucon Valley. At around 2pm, power appeared to have been restored to much of Hellertown's downtown business district and traffic signals were functional once again.

In the wake of , residents of Hellertown and Lower Saucon are coming out to.

In Hellertown, as of 12:30pm, flooding on the Saucon Creek at Walnut Street meant the road was still closed to traffic.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

However, a very muddy Water Street had reopened and cars were moving across the Saucon Creek bridge that separates the borough from the township. Flooding in the vicinity of Front and Water appeared to have infiltrated several businesses, including Brown's laundromat.

A block to the east, traffic on Main Street in Hellertown was flowing from the north end to the south end of the borough, although earlier Sunday morning standing water had forced the closure of Route 412 between Penn Street and Easton Road, according to a PennDOT email.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Traffic lights were still out in the town center, however.

Hellertown Police Officer Jim DeLeone, who was helping to keep Walnut Street closed to traffic shortly after noon, said that some businesses in downtown Hellertown had sustained damage from flooding associated with the storm that roared through the region yesterday and today.

Among them, he said, was a new business called Erica's Cafe, which opened only days ago at 637 Main Street.

Shortly after 1pm, clean-up activities were observed under way at and in the 600 block of Main Street, and sidewalks were being hosed off.

"A good portion of Main Street right by the --that was all flooded out," DeLeone said.

He said all of the Hellertown Police Department's officers not already duty were called in at 3am to respond to the storm, and that one of the more dramatic moments during the overnight hours came when a man had to be rescued from his stranded vehicle on Water Street.

The Shoppes at Hellertown shopping center at Main Street and Polk Valley Road also felt the effects of Hurricane Irene, with storm water approaching and possibly entering some businesses, although late this morning both the and the restaurant across Main Street were open for business.

Cars and people were lined up at both establishments, as many local residents without electricity apparently sought hot meals. As of Sunday morning PPL had reported that almost 3,500 of its Lower Saucon Township customers were without electricity.

In addition to heading out for breakfast, some residents were on the still-new , but with a weather forecast that calls for high winds throughout the day, DeLeone advised against use of the popular trail today.

Littered with debris in sections, the path is also lined by tall trees, and DeLeone said there's no telling when or if one of them might be snapped off by the gusty winds associated with the remnants of Irene.

The strong gusts of up to 50mph also caused him to fear that residents at the south end of Hellertown might also lose power, he said.

As of about 12:30pm, the traffic lights at Main and Water streets, Main and High streets, and Main Street and Cherry Lane remained dark.

However, by 1pm electricity at the north end of the borough appeared to have been restored. At the same time, however, a Patch reader reported that power on the east side of the borough had gone out.

Just north of Hellertown, in the City of Bethlehem, police had Route 412 north at Silvex Road barricaded to traffic as a result of flooding along the Saucon Creek in the city. Businesses such as the Wendy's restaurant at that intersection, just off I-78, were closed.

DeLeone advised residents not to drive around barricades if they encounter them, and to remain at home Sunday if possible.


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