Route 4 Shutdown Chaos Near Bergen Town Center
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus, NJ – Saturday, September 27th, turned into a massive traffic headache for thousands of drivers on Route 4 (State Highway 4). Both the eastbound and westbound lanes near the heavily congested Bergen Town Center were crippled for hours in the afternoon and early evening due to a dangerous low-hanging communications cable.
The Incident: Two Lanes Closed, Four Directions Affected
The critical situation forced the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) personnel to close off two (2) travel lanes in each direction. This major shutdown immediately brought traffic to a standstill on one of Bergen County’s busiest arteries, creating gridlock that lasted well into the evening.
The Paramus Office of Emergency Management swiftly advised all drivers to avoid the Route 4 corridor entirely, warning of severe delays.
The Response: Crews Rush to a Dangerous Scene
As of 6:00 PM on Saturday:
- A two-person Verizon repair crew had arrived on the scene to begin assessing the damage and planning the fix. They were reportedly awaiting additional team members to tackle the complex repair.
- PSE&G Electric Division crews were also requested by the Paramus Police Department, highlighting the potential danger posed by utility infrastructure damage, though they had not yet arrived by 6:00 PM.
The Cause: What Dropped the Cable?
Fortunately, police reported no accidents at the immediate location, leaving the exact cause of the drooping cable a mystery.
However, incident responders quickly noticed a crack in one of the utility poles supporting the cable. This evidence led to speculation that a large vehicle—likely an oversized truck or commercial van—may have unknowingly struck the pole, causing the structural damage that allowed the communications line to sag dangerously into the roadway.
The swift action by the Paramus Police Department and NJDOT to close the lanes prevented what could have been a serious collision.
Impact and Resolution
The multi-hour closure created major backups stretching for miles in Paramus, a borough already notorious for its weekend traffic volume. While the exact time the cable was fully secured and the lanes reopened is pending, the immediate and crucial response from local authorities and utility partners was key to preventing a larger disaster.
Drivers are always reminded to use caution and patience when dealing with unforeseen road hazards and to follow the official advice of local emergency management and police departments.
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Go to old Paramus is ruined for life. The city of Paramus, they keep on building everywhere, how many of these locations are built on wetlands, swamps, they filled in, let’s see what’s gonna happen down the road, it’s gonna be just like the Meadowlands. Everything’s sinking. They built on all the old salary farms. Now the town is like a city, noise, pollution, traffic everywhere, you can keep it.
Only an idiot would drive down route 4 on a Saturday.
Nobody drives on rt 4, its too crowded.