UPDATES: Lower Saucon Township Police said Thursday that the section of Riverside Drive known as ‘The Narrows’ has reopened to traffic following last weekend’s landslide.
At least two roads in Saucon Valley were closed early Monday morning in the wake of a weekend during which torrential rain fell across much of the area.
Lower Saucon Township Police issued alerts for road closures on both the Narrows (Riverside Drive) and Lower Saucon Road, which are both located on the eastern side of the township.
The Narrows was closed where it becomes one-way just east of the Freemansburg Motorcycle Hill Climb in Steel City, police said.
The reason for the closure, police said, was a landslide, photos of which were shared on the “Citizens for Responsible Development-Fighting Landfill Expansion in LST” Facebook page Sunday.
Lower Saucon Road was closed at Woodland Hills Court due to a large tree blocking the roadway, authorities said, adding that Verizon had been called to the scene to assist with reopening it.
When wires are brought down by trees, the utilities that own them are responsible for removing them from the roads they are blocking.
Officially, 1.18 inches of rain fell at Lehigh Valley International Airport between Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall amounts from the storms were highly localized, however, and some places–particularly in Northampton County–received considerably more.
Monday is forecast to be a dry day, although an air quality alert has been issued for haze caused by Canadian wildfire smoke that will be returning to the area.
Tuesday’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m.
Additional wet weather could hamper cleanup efforts in the Lehigh Valley and lower Bucks County, where at least five people died in flash flooding triggered by up to 7 inches of rain Saturday.
Two small children who were swept away by flood waters near Washington Crossing in Upper Makefield Township were still missing as of Monday, as a search and rescue operation continued.
Lower Saucon Township Police issued an alert Monday morning for the closure of the Narrows (Riverside Drive) due to a landslide. Riverside Drive is the main road into and out of the township’s Steel City neighborhood, which is located on the Lehigh River opposite Freemansburg. The road becomes one-way at the eastern end of Steel City by the Freemansburg Motorcyle Hill Climb at 2248 Riverside Drive. (Credit: Google Maps)
