On the morning of Tuesday, September 10, 2024🤪, commuters in New Jersey faced a travel disaster.
A series oꦜf accidents, a bus breakdown, and a sudden train power outage led to major delays for people trying to get into New York City.
The chaos lꦓeft many frustrated and stuck in traffic for hours, creating a nightmare morning for anyone♐ on the road or rails.
- Accidents in the Lincoln Tunnel, a broken-down bus, and crashes on Route 3 led to long delays, with some commuters stuck for up to four hours.
- A power outage halted NJ Transit and Amtrak trains, making the commute even worse.
- The United Nations General Assembly added street closures to the chaos, trapping commuters in traffic for hours.
Accidents in the Lincoln Tunnel Lead to Huge Delays
It all started early in the morning when a motorcycle accident inside the Linco🌜ln Tunnel at around 3:50 a.m. caused the tunnel’s center tube to close.
This accideജnt alone would have caused some delays, but things quickly went from bad to worse.
The tunnel’s n๊orth tube was also closed for const🐎ruction, and just before 7 a.m., a NJ Transit bus broke down in the south tube.
With only one tube open, traffic came to a standst🐓ill, and the delays stretched for miles.
Some drivers were s🍌o fed up that they left their buses and walked out of the tunnel🥂.
M🌃eanwhile, outside the tunnel, accidents on Route 3 in East Rutherford ad🐼ded even more problems.
One car flipped ov♏er on the eastbound side, and a crash involving an ambulance blocked the westbound lanes.
By the༺ time everything was sorted out, people faced delays of over two hoಞurs.
In some cases, what should have been a 25-minute trip to New York tu♈rned into a four-hour ordeal.
Rail Problems Add to the Nightmare
Just when it seemed like things 💫couldn’t get worse, they did.
To help with the traffic jams, NJ Transit started divไerting buse��s to Secaucus Junction, where passengers could switch to trains.
However, at around൲ 9:45 a.m., an unrelated power outage hit the NJ Transit and Amtrak train lines, shutting down all tr🌌ains heading into Penn Station in New York.
Although this power outage lasted 𒅌only 30 minutes, it cause💟d major delays.
Even after the power returned, it took an hour for train services to fully resume, leaving thousands of commuters stranded on packed platfo🅷rms.
Some people swit🔯ched to PATH trains heading to 📖Hoboken or tried to catch a ferry across the Hudson River, but they found those options just as crowded.
UN Street Closures Create Even More Delays
As if the accidents and power issues weren’t enough, Tuesday marked the start of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan.
Extensive street closures on the East Side created additional 🐽traffic jams throughout New ﷺYork City.
Streets from East 34th Street to Eaꦡst 63rd Street along 1st Avenue, as well as portions♊ of the FDR Drive, were shut down to accommodate security for world leaders attending the assembly.
Even after the Lincoln Tunnel fully reopened at 9:15 a.m., traffic was still ဣmoving slowly because of the closures.
Drivers whoꦅ usually rely on the FDR Drive or 1st Avenue were stuck i꧟n gridlock, making an already frustrating morning even worse.
Timeline of the Morning’s Chaos
- 3:50 a.m.: A motorcycle crash in the Lincoln Tunnel’s center tube shuts down the tunnel.
- 5:30 a.m.: The NYPD briefly delays the tunnel’s north tube reopening due to a pursuit.
- 6:50 a.m.: A NJ Transit bus breaks down in the south tube, adding to the delays.
- 7:00 a.m.: Accidents on Route 3 in East Rutherford cause more traffic problems.
- 9:00 a.m.: NJ Transit reports 30-minute train delays due to congestion.
- 9:45 a.m.: A power outage halts all train services at Penn Station.
- 10:15 a.m.: Power is restored, but train delays continue for about an hour.
After hours of mounting frustration, commuters finalꦦly experienced a small sense of relief as s💯ervices gradually started returning to normal.
However, the damage had already b꧙een done, with many travelers feeling drained, delayed, and overwhel🐻med by the morning’s chaos.
Despite the reopening of the Lincoln Tunnel and 🔯the resumption of train services, traffic across the city remained heavi♔ly congested due to the ongoing street closures for the United Nations General Assembly.
For countless individu💝als,𝓰 it became one of the most grueling and exhausting travel experiences they could remember.
