Frenchtown Flood June 28-30, 2006 Delaware River flood at the Frenchtown-Uhlerstown Bridge in Frenchtown, NJ After the flood waters receded - cleanup and other web site updates Messages from Frenchtown Mayor Ron Sworen Dealing with FEMA and Your Insurance Company Let's plan now for next time... Situation Reports - Updates Frenchtown.com photos Page 1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 p7 Contributed photos Joe Joe Kaz Aerial Chronology Current Situation Links to further information Messages Resident Resources - Information for Local Residents FAQ/Q&A Quotable quotes Suggestions about this page and our coverage of the flood - CONTACT WEBMASTER

click on the photo to view a short video of this scene - water rushing under the bridge

After the Flood Followup - Cleaning and getting back to normal life along the river, plus further updates to these pages.

• August 1 - After flood cleanup of debris on the bridge - costly and time-consuming. Could it have been prevented?
  
• July 8 - new page - planning for next time
  
• July 8 - Dealing with FEMA and your insurance company
  
• July 7 - From Mayor Ron Sworen - Frenchtown Included in Federal Disaster Area due to Flood Damage
  and more IMPORTANT information for residents...
• July 7 - From MTP Video - http://mtpvideo.net/flood.html
• July 7 - Web site traffic - over 6,000 displays of this page by Friday
  
• Notice: The boro has placed four dumpsters in appropriate areas around town.
  River Road, Railroad Ave., Front Street & Lott Street.
• To volunteer to help with the cleanup this weekend, Contact the Borough Clerk at Frenchtown Borough Hall or
  CONTACT WEBMASTER (subject: Frenchtown Cleanup) and we will forward your offer to the Boro Hall and get back to you with details.
• Photos - new photos of Route 32 damage and Frenchtown cleanup coming soon.
• July 3 - Fire Department photos added to website

Final Flood Report: 5:15 pm Sunday, July 2, 2006 - Frenchtown Bridge is OPEN

• The Frenchtown-Uhlerstown Bridge across the (formerly flooded) Delaware River is now open.
• However, PA Route 32 (River Road) north to Milford is NOT open - and will not be for quite a while. A large section of the road is simply gone...
  
• PA Route 32 SOUTH is open - at least for the first few miles.
• The road to The Uhlerstown Covered Bridge over the canal is NOT open; the flood washed out a 30-yard section and it will not be passable until some major excavation and paving work is done; same as after the last two floods.
• We have added another aerial photograph of the Post Office and Trenton Avenue Area
• Frenchtown.com's Flood Central Information page has been displayed 4500 times since it was first posted five days ago.
  

Update: noon Sunday, July 2, 1006

• We have added a second page of 4 new aerial photographs
• State Route 29 is now open from Frenchtown to Lambertville. "The whole route is open" according to NJ State Police.
• The Frenchtown bridge is NOT open as of 1 pm Sunday.
  

Update: 9 pm, Saturday, July 1, 2006

• Frenchtown bridge remains closed as of this evening, but could be open by early afternoon on Sunday - as soon as the debris removal is completed.
  
• Bridge Street is reopened to the Frenchtown Inn.
• Route 29 is still not open clear to Lambertville. Use State highway 12 and County route 519 or US 202 instead.
  
• The Center Bridge in Stockton and the Bridge at Milford are open.
• The Frenchtown Inn is open for Saturday lunch and dinner (but will be closed for vacation until July 12)
• The Red Cross came to town with cleanup kits, bottled water, meals and support supplies for residents' cleanup needs
• The Salvation Army showed up with a truck and volunteers and passed out home made hot sandwiches and drinks. Thanks!
  
• The Frenchtown Post Office remains closed and is serving residents from the Milford Post Office
• Most of the water has drained from flooded areas, and it did not leave as much mud and muck behind as the last time.
• The Frenchtown Fire Company has pumped out many basements of most affected homes in need of assistance and will be finishing up tomorrow

• After 12 hours at 33 feet, Rieglesville Bridge water level has dropped rapidly to below 21 feet.

• Rigelsville Bridge reached 33 feet at 9:30 am Thursday.
• Route 12 to Frenchtown is closed at Baptistown. Traffic is being diverted via County Road 519.
• News Center 4 Van just left town headed east. Watch for their reports on tv.
• Floating propane tanks are a serious danger - watch out for them coming down the river, or banging around in your back yards...
• Victor has offered the use of his gas-powered water pump. Contact webmaster for details.
• The only two bridges open across the river are 202 at Lambertville/New Hope and 78 at Phillipsburg/Easton
• Riegelsville Bridge crested at 33 at 8 am on Thursday, but, after 12 hours at 33 feet, has dropped rapidly to below 21 feet by 1:00 am Friday... On September 19, 2004, the Riegelsville bridge crested at 31 feet.

• 10:00 pm official bridge reading 21 feet.
• Currently, the flood is expected Crest between noon and at 2 pm on Thursday - possibly as high as 30 feet.

• According to the State Police, Route 29 between Lambertville and Frenchtown is closed, bridges at Milford, Stockton and Lambertville are also closed and "conditions are worse there" than in Frenchtown.
• Bridge at Belvidere will be closed soon.
• Frenchtown Post Office will be closed today. Staff and services are moving to Milford until it is safe to return.
• At 8:00 am, the Frenchtown bridge to PA was closed.
  
• At 9:00 am, the waters had reached 16.55 feet
• cresting expected at 3 am Thursday
• Riegelsville bridge (10 miles north) passed flood stage of 22 feet at 5 am Wednesday, was at 28 feet by 11 am and was rising at a rate of one foot per hour.

PHOTOS PAGES - Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

PLUS Contributed photos

• AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS by our friend Bob Quinlan of Highwing
  
• Joe's binocular photos
• Joe Kazimierczyk's comparison photos of the Frenchtown bridge
• Micki Allen's photos on Snapfish.com
• Photos from Frenchtown Volunteer Fire Department

Chronology:

• The Frenchtown Bridge was closed at 8:00 Wednesday morning, June 28, 2006
• Many homes south of Bridge Street were flooded by midday Wednesday. See aerial photographs for details
• The flood crested slowly late Thursday and stayed at high level with the river flowing at over 50 mph, carrying debris from up north. This time, it was mostly trees and branches, but docks, canoes and lumber flowed past as well.
  
• The river rose to within only a few feet of the bridge deck as of noon Friday, then began to slowly recede.
• Maintenance crews worked Saturday and Sunday to remove debris from the bridge pylons.
  
• The Frenchtown bridge reopened at 5 pm Sunday, July 2, 2006
  

• Flood Relief information from our Congressman, Rush Holt
• More information for residents from Congressman Rush Holt
• Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management Flood Information page (Flood of June, 2006)
• Central NJ Chapter of the Red Cross Website at: www.njredcross.org
• Hunterdon County Department Of Health - After Flooding Basement Flood Cleanup Guide
• Floodsmart.gov - official Flood Insurance Program Site.
  

Links we found or have been sent:

• Delaware River toll Bridge Commission - the official source
  
• Current Conditions along the Delaware River, courtesy of the National Weather Service Middle Atlantic Forecast Center
• NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service page for Frenchtown Bridge
•  Courier News Flood photos page - http://www.c-n.com/photogallery/20060629flooding/
• Hunterdon's Delaware Bridges - from NJ Skylands' web site
• Pennridge' page on the Frenchtown-Uhlerstown Bridge
• John Stringfellow's Frenchtowner.com regional travel and vacation guide web site
• Delaware River ran wild 50 year ago - background piece from the Hunterdon County Democrat
• Boy Scouts evacuate Treasure Island - from NJ.com
• From Hunterdon County Democrat Thursday, June 29
  

FAQ / Q & A from our incoming email:

Q: Is the bridge open yet?
A: Friday noon: No. Although the river is going down rapidly, and the bridges are no longer in imminent danger, the local bridges will not likely open until they are checked out for stability by the Bridge Commission and the roads on both sides of the river are open for normal traffic. We suggest anyone needing to cross the river use the Route 202 bridge at Lambertville/New Hope or I-78 bridge at Phillipsburg/Easton.

Q: Is Route 29 Open south of Frenchtown - as of Friday?
A: NO. Although open for some stretches, Route 29 south of Frenchtown is still closed for much of the route between Frenchtown and Stockton. Route 29 at Byram is still under water, Stockton has suffered extensive flooding.
County highway 519 south from Baptistown (3 miles east of Frenchtown on Route 12) is open to Route 29 in Stockton, but may be impassable through Stockton itself. The water is receding rapidly, and most roads should be passable by some time over this weekend.

Q: I have some photos of Frenchtown - would you like to post them?
A: Yes. Please contact the webmaster of Frenchtown.com Include titles and descriptions. I will post - and credit - all that I can.

Q: I heard reports about large fish swimming in the flood waters. Is that true?
A: Yes. Andy saw some in the flooded Frenchtown Inn Parking lot, Dave saw some swimming through a neighbor's garden, a Fireman I spoke to saw a large one splashing in the flooded roadway near the post office, I personally saw 4 very large - (20") carp in a flooded yard south of town. Yes. There were some very large fish swimming in the relatively still waters out of the main rushing river.

Q: Was anyone hurt?
A: Not that I know of.

Q: Are you paid to do this?
A: No. Frenchtown.com is a voluntary community service.  However, if anyone would like to help defray the costs, donations are more than welcome and greatly appreciated - via PayPal transfer to alan@alanr.com subject: "In support of Frenchtown.com"

Q: When was this bridge built?
A: This 6 span Warren truss type riveted steel structure was built in 1931 on the original piers which were put in place in 1841. Although the original wooden covered bridge on this site was severly damaged during the flood of 1903, the bridge suffered little damage during the flood of August 1955 and no appreciable damage since then. It was restored/repainted a few years ago with modifications made to the roadway width and walkway.

CONTACT WEBMASTER

It's also time to begin planning for the next flood.
Flooding of the Delaware River is becoming all to familiar to us,
with three major 'fifty-year' floods in less than 22 months.
(but more about that later)
~~~~~~~

"My friends are looking for a temporary home for two coy (KOI) fish that live in Frenchtown. Until the river recedes, these fish must be evacuated from their pond on Trenton avenue and can go back to their original home/owners once river goes down.....If anyone can help...Please let me know.....They have been transported into a cooler for now."

update: "Red and Redder" - the Coy Koi of Frenchtown, are safe and sound and are enjoying their hotel room at the National hotel, only a few blocks from their home. We have received offers of assistance from Koi lovers and appreciate them, but for the time being, it seems as though they will be just fine. Their home was spared and they will returning to their pond as soon as the flood waters recede and their pond is properly cleaned and prepared for them. This is their third flood and they are getting used to it..

Watch these pages for photos and stories of Frenchtown's famous Koi who survived the last THREE Frenchtown floods...

Thank YOU!