Downed pole shutters busy Brick Township street

Traffic on Burrsville Road in Brick Township is undergoing detours between Burnt Tavern Road and Patriot Avenue while a utility pole lying on the roadway is tended, according to township police.

According to authorities a tractor trailer driven by Neil Mescia of Englewood, NJ, snared low-hanging wires on Burrsville near Burnt Tavern, taking down three utility poles and damaging a fourth, causing sporadic power outages and knocking out traffic signals.

Jersey Central Power and Light's outage map showed 148 outages in Brick at 1:30 PM. That number has dwindled to a handful as JCP&L rerouted power from other lines.

Police estimate that the closure will be in effect until at least 8 PM>