Because of severe storms that moved through the area Monday, Aug. 16, Faculty Road between Washington Road and Harrison Street remains closed, and is expected to be closed throughout the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 17.
Faculty, staff and students that typically arrive on campus via Faculty Road and Washington Road should plan alternate routes due to downed tree limbs and power lines. Alexander Road is open, and Washington Road is accessible via Nassau Street.
Public Safety and the Department of Facilities assisted residents of the Butler Apartments who were affected by the severe thunderstorms that generated high winds and dumped rain shortly before 5 p.m. by establishing a shelter in the Frist Multipurpose Room.
Cots and toiletries were available, and Dining Services made food and beverages available to Butler residents who were not allowed to return to their homes. Because of the downed trees and power lines, homeward bound residents of Butler Apartments were instructed at 6:45 p.m. to go instead to Frist Campus Center. Residents at home were informed that they should not go outside, as those who left their homes in some instances were not being allowed by municipal emergency responders to return. These displaced residents also were being asked to seek shelter at Frist. University shuttles were sent to Butler to transport residents.
Early estimates were that fallen trees damaged at least four homes at Butler, among trees that fell in more than a dozen locations across campus. There were no injuries.
Graduate students and undergraduate students on campus for the summer were sent an alert at 5:45 p.m. to give them notice of the storm and to advise them against approaching downed trees and power lines. Alerts and notices were sent to students and residents via the Princeton Telephone and Email Notification System (PTENS).
Butler residents sheltering in Frist are being directed to park their vehicles in Lot 21. As of 8 p.m. Ivy Lane was closed at Western Way because of downed trees, so instead, vehicular traffic was being directed north on Harrison Street, west on Western Way, and then south on Fitzrandolph Way to Lot 21. The storm disabled the traffic light at Washington Road and Harrison, and also closed Harrison from Sycamore to Faculty Road.
Additional residences without power include Dean Mathey and Hibben-Magie apartments and University housing on Prospect Avenue between Washington Road and Harrison Street, but residents of these units should remain in their homes. In total about 500 campus residents -- mostly graduate students, but also some faculty and students -- were affected by power outages.
PSE&G informed the Department of Public Safety that the utility was dispatching crews to restore power to affected areas. The current projection is that power may not be restored until Tuesday, Aug. 17.
If you have an emergency, contact Public Safety at 911 from a campus phone or 258-3333 from other phones. To report damage, call the Facilities Customer Service line, 258-8000.
Further updates will be posted on the Department of Facilities outages website: www.princeton.edu/facilities/info/news/outages/.