Update: Businesses on Rte. 23, Thousands Still Without Power

Thousands of residents and several businesses on Route 23 are still without power Monday morning as the area recovers from a surprise storm that blanketed North Jersey with several inches of snow over the weekend.

Businesses in the Waynechester Plaza, next to the old State Farm building on Route 23 North, and in the plaza across the highway on Route 23 South are without power. 

PSE&G could not be reached for comment Monday morning, but according to the company's online Outage Center, between 2,000 and 5,000 residents still do not have power.

Traffic lights at the Route 23 turnaround near the old State Farm building and at Route 23 and Packanack Lake Road remain without power. Vehicles are prohibited from heading south on Route 23 from Packanack Lake Road.

While many of the main roads are dry and traffic is now moving smoothly on many of them, dozens of side streets were blocked by downed trees and dangling power lines over the weekend.

PSE&G estimates it will be Wednesday evening before crews are able to restore electricity throughout Wayne, according to Police Chief John Reardon. 

The township has set up a shelter at the for anyone who needs it.

, Board of Education President Donald Pavlak Jr. announced Sunday afternoon.

Reardon explained Sunday that while Department of Public Works employees have been working to remove downed trees from roadways, in many cases trees cannot be removed until wires have been removed or a determination has been made that they are not power lines.

Residents are cautioned not to touch any downed wires, Reardon said, because of the danger of electrocution.

Any Wayne residents without electricity who need shelter for the night should contact MaryAnn Orapello, by calling the Wayne Police Communications desk at 973-694-0600.

The debate set for Sunday morning among candidates for state Senate and Assembly was cancelled. No word yet on a new date.

Police Detective Capt. Jim Clarke also asked that residents not call 911 unless they truly have an emergency, because police dispatchers are overwhelmed by the flood of calls. According to Clarke, from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, the police department received 525 calls for service.