Belleville: Steeple Secure, Rutgers Street Reopened to Traffic Thursday

Rutgers Street east of Washington Avenue, which leads to the Rt. 7 bridge, was reopened to traffic Thursday afternoon, Belleville Township Manager Kevin Esposito told Patch today.

The street had been closed earlier this week as workers were called in to secure the steeple at the historic Dutch Reformed Church site, which had been damaged during Superstorm Sandy. Workers scrambled Tuesday to brace the steeple, which soars above the corner of Rutgers and Main, ahead of the nor’easter that swept through the area yesterday.

Esposito also said, however, that the structure cannot yet be safely occupied.

In other cleanup-related news, Esposito said a tree branch that had come down last night had been removed and that power had been restored on Smallwood Avenue, one of the last remaining pockets of Belleville that was still without electricity in the wake of Sandy.