North Jerseyans Stock Up Ahead of Storm

Communities along Route 23 were doing what they could to deal with the snowstorm Thursday night that is forecast to leave between six and nine inches of snow on North Jersey.

The Wayne Department of Public Works has coated all hills, including the one on Ratzer Road that meets with Alps Road at its peak, and main roads with a brine liquid of saltwater. The substance is designed to make the snow not stick to the roadways and easier to salt.

“Brine or salt will be distributed until roads have sufficient coverage,” said George Holzapfel, DPW superintendent. “Plows will be distributed through [the town’s] 14 snow zones and we will continue until roads are opened and the snow has ended.”

Grocery and big box stores were packed Thursday as people scrambled to get cases of water and other essentials before the storm hit.

“I’m just going to hunker down and see what we get,” said Ray Dominguez as he packed a case of water into his car at BJ’s on Route 23. “For once, we may actually get what they’re saying we could, but who knows?”

Lines were long at the Foodtown on Route 23 North in Wayne. People were stocking up on milk, bread, water, and batteries.

“Yeah, it seems like this is typical now for us,” said Frank Baden. “We’ve gotten a lot of these in recent years. They seem to be getting worse and worse every year.”

Gov. Chris Christie issued a state of emergency Thursday night.

Roadways were beginning to be covered with snow around 6:30 p.m.