Christie: "It Is Time To Get Out"
State closing off southbound traffic below Exit 98 in Wall, shutting other roads
Gov. Chris Christie, seen here in a file photo, will speak about protecting beaches during a 2:30 p.m. appearance Aug. 12 in front of the Ocean City Music Pier.
Tim Larsen/Office of Gov. Chris Christie
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Governor Christie announced at a press conference Friday that southbound traffic below Exit 98 in Wall will be closed at 8 p.m. today, saying it was time for residents to prepare for Hurricane Irene.
The governor also said Routes 47 and 347 in Cape May will be closed to eastbound traffic beginning at 6 p.m. The Atlantic City Expressway also will be closed to eastbound traffic, also beginning at 6 p.m., Christie said.
Earlier, Christie announced that beginning at 6 p.m. all lanes of Route 72 to Route 70 will be closed to eastbound traffic, using all lanes to lead away from the ocean. The measure is to aid evacuation of Long Beach Island in Ocean County.
Beginning Saturday at 12 p.m., New Jersey Transit will be shuttered, Christie said.
"Let me say this to the people in Cape May, Atlantic and Ocean Counties: If you are on the barrier islands, it is time to get out. This is not like anything you've ever seen. You stay there at risk to your own life,'' he said.
Christie did not announce any mandatory evacuations, saying he would make that decision later today. He hinted there may be evacuations in Monmouth County, saying there would be an update on the county later "where we may have to start moving people out.''
No time was set during that conference.
Christie stressed the seriousness of Hurricane Irene, calling it a major statewide event.
"This is not just a possibility,'' Christie said. "It is an overwhelming probability. This is not going to be just a coastal incident. This is an incident that will be statewide for us.''
Christie strongly urged residents to take advantage of the mild weather and sunshine today to prepare for the stom, which is expected to hit the Jersey Shore overnight Saturday and into Sunday.
"You need to use today to prepare,'' Christie said. "Today is not the day to go to dinner in Atlantic City.''
Christie also said the state was working to designate areas for residents who evacuate to drop off their pets, but he gave no details on a solid plan.
The Motor Vehicle Commission offices in Atlantic, Cumberland, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties will close at 4 p.m. today until further notice, Christie said.
To aid drivers whose licenses expire at the end of the month, the MVC will also provide an extension until Sept. 10th for renewals on expired drivers licenses, identification cards, vehicle registrations and inspections effective Sept. 1. Authorization was previously provided for MVC office closures in Cape May county, Christie said.
Swift Loris
1:19 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Christie said NJTransit will shut down at noon tomorrow, Saturday. I called NJ Transit to make sure trains would still be running in the morning before noon, they said yes. Hope that's true--I've been planning to leave then.
DaveL
1:22 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Doesn't closing the GSP seem a little extreme, or am I just not getting it?
R. Mc
1:59 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
The costal emergency evacuation plan turns both sides of the parkway into northbound routes in order to support the amount of traffic all leaving at once.
Rosalita
2:00 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Definitely extreme. Not to mention illogical.
nate
2:05 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Why would people need access to the areas that will be hard hit? Also, it's other possible lanes to go in the safe direction in the event of a massive evacuation.
Anita D.
1:30 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Don not stay in a house close to the Ocean Gate wind turbine. There's a reasonable chance it will blow down in the storm. It should never have been built in the first place close to homes and town buildings.
Rosalita
1:58 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
That makes sense because they wouldn't design a wind turbine to handle wind.
Steven Charney
1:50 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
stupid move on shutting the parkway down.
Rosalita
1:56 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
why ?
copperpot
2:13 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
What if I have to take the parkway home and I live in pelican island. I have to work until 9. Will someone get my cats for me?
Rosalita
2:16 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
I knew it Christie hates cats! He did this on purpose!
Lacey Resident
6:07 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Leave work! Do not stay until 9...please leave early get your cats & belongings and get out of there as quickly as possible!
copperpot
2:22 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
wait, can we shut down the parkway every friday night? I live at the shore, i hate the faux hawks and tight shirts that come down
Michael Mazza
2:29 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
I have friends flying home. They live in Beach Haven West their flight doesnt land in newark until 7:30pm. Boat, jetskis and dogs all at the house :( - I think they could have waited and closed the parkway early tomorrow morning. People are still working today. They did not think this one through.
Rosalita
2:34 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
If my Satellite and/or power is out Sunday, will anyone have me over to watch true blood? Serioulsly? Please? I have dorritos.
jennifer
11:18 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
funny
BN
2:37 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
WTF don't you people understand? It is NOT EXTREME and it is VERY LOGICAL to close the GSP southbound. It's a freakin' HURRICANE!
Screw the cats and tell your friends to get a hotel room near the airport or rough it out on the floor. Would you/they rather be dead?
America, a nation of sheeple...disgusting. Where has common sense gone?
.
2:39 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
You do not tell that to a pet owner!! Pets are family to most people!!
Rosalita
2:44 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
And heading in the same direction a storm is moving is logical? You're a genius. Is your name real name Spock by any chance?
Rosalita
2:45 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Screw your cat.
copperpot
2:40 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
cat hater
copperpot
2:58 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
it is true, it is a hurricane and this is serious. TOMORROW when the hurricane comes close the parkway. In the mean time, i would like to get home.
copperpot
2:58 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
for my cats
BN
3:19 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
I guess making preparations in advance was out of the question, huh? It's not like we knew about this storm for several days now...oh wait, WE DID!
disgusted homeowner
4:18 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
@BN, you are obviously a pet hater. Shame on you...... Or you are Chris Chrisite's best friend. Which is it?????
1stcav
3:07 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Oem had planned this from day one, ALL roads go away from the shore, means south bound lanes are NOW also NORTH bound lanes , 6 or 8 lanes going AWAY from the beach ( shore ) ocean !!!!!! WTF DON"T you understand ??????AWAY from eminent danger , that WILL kill your dumb a$$.....Duh !!!! Stupid.....hope we NEVER have a problem with the nuke plants, these dummies will ask if they can stay till the geiger counter gets real high before their asked to leave because this is a burden on them...To pull up roots and be displaced and inconvenienced , saving their dumb lives....let 'em drowned with their fake Gucci wear !!!!! Snookie you'll float with that May West vest you Have !!!! Ha Ha , ha....Oh ,sorry honey your safe too !!!! In the dog house again with this mouth...used to it !!!! Vet 68
BN
3:16 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
On second thought, let Darwin take the ball and run with it for a while. Same with the people stocking up on beer, cigarettes, and Twinkies in lieu of water, canned goods, and toilet paper.
disgusted homeowner
4:21 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
1stcav, don't be coy. We know you watch Jersey Shore and are secretly in love with Snookie !!!!!
copperpot
3:14 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
You don't understand, i do not mind leaving. How can I leave, if I cannot get there? I will be long gone before the hurricane comes, safely with my personal belongings and cats. However, an awesome plan to close roads and evacuate towns should come with more notice.
Diane
3:24 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Oh my, you all need to calm down. First, there are other ways to go southbound besides the parkway which have not shut down southbound traffic. Second, for everyone going nuts about people wanting to get their cats and dogs tonight...shutup...they are in no danger going home tonight to get their animals. And in my opinion, there is no reason anything, human or otherwise, should have to die needlessly in this. Let's also consider that there are many of us who live south of exit 98 who are not being evacuated and do not live on barrier islands...nor are we that close to the shore, so it's not unreasonable for us to want to get home and bunker down for the storm. And as per your ridiculous comment about the nuclear plant...if we experience fallout from issues with that plant, you won't be out-driving it by running north up the parkway. I swear sometimes I love reading the comments one this site because it's a comedy of ignorance and errors.
BN
3:31 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Are you familar with Hurricane Rita? Traffic was backed up for so long that people ran out of gas and had to abandon thier cars. Open the GSP northbound both lanes now, get everyone out ASAP. Use 9 if you MUST go south. Sorry, if your pets are like "family" you should have made preparations long ago. We knew about this storm for days now. It's not like the folks in Japan, or Joplin. Everyone should always be prepared for a disaster. Did we learn nothing from 9/11 and Katrina?
disgusted homeowner
4:22 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
A little radiation never hurt anyone. So you glow in the dark for a couple of days......
copperpot
3:35 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
We knew about the storm for days, the road closures for hours, exactly my point. It's the people up at the top who are ridiculous. Well, I am leaving my work now so I can get my cats. I will be in Ohio with family before the hurricane comes. Everyone be safe. God Bless you all.
Diane
4:07 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
You can't compare this to Katrina realistically or 9/11. People can't always make arrangement days in advance, not everyone lives near family or can drop animals off early, sorry to ruin your overly simplistic view. And as I said....there are a lot of us down here that aren't near beaches or water and are not evacuating, nor is it being suggested that we evacuate.
juls
4:57 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Watch footage of Hurricane Ike and the evacuation from Houston there's no such thing as extreme. We have seen it all. Prepare.
.
5:30 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
How can you compare this to 9/11?? How much notice did they have before that?
BN
6:47 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
I wasn;t comparing it to 9/11. I asked what LESSONS DID WE LEARN from it? The answer is BE PREPARED. I guess that concept is too much for some people to grasp.
.
5:31 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Gee, when I read the headline I was hoping it meant Christie was resigning!
Mac
9:21 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
I liked it better when he was in Florida during the snow storm. At least we didn't have to witness his insulting antics designed to entertain a national audience.
disgusted homeowner
4:25 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Mac. yeah like him looking all tanned telling the people to forget about their tans and get off the beach in asbury park!!!! He got his tan this week. Wonder what beach the Gov. goes to..... just saying.
William J Moss
7:04 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Time to open the emeg access route through the power plant for forked river beach aera
John Walton
10:48 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Leaders are overreacting and scaring the people.. National weather service is calling for tropical storm conditions, possible hurrican conditions.. The winds may gust as high as 75 mph, not the end of the world. Don't go to the TV for news on the hurricane. C A L M !
Spooner
11:41 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
Some forecasters claim the blustery winds are not coming from Hurricane Irene, but from local officials up and down the coast issuing evacuation orders...
“North of Delaware, most hurricane force winds will very likely be gusts, not sustained winds,” said Dr. Simon Atkins CEO, Advanced Forecasting Corporation [AFC].
“The demise of Irene has already begun,” Dr. Atkins said. “There is no visible eye. The storm intensity is down to 99 mph, while 36 hours ago some predicted a catastrophic category 4 storm. Air Force Reserve aircraft have found that Irene’s eyewall has collapsed, and the central pressure has risen — rising pressure means a weakening storm.”
...Although rain fall and storm surge are variant factors that are more tenuous in prediction. . .the breath and track of the storm being other factors in the equation that should not be ignored?
“It definitely is a concern, but sometimes things are blown out of proportion. Sometimes the people who make the calls just want to save their asses,” Italian ice retailer Roberto Luzuriaga said . . .
...on Rockaway Beach in New York City, the beach goers thumbed their finger to Mayor Mike Bloomberg when he told them to evacuate, and the beach was still packed Friday evening. . .
Scott Pezarras
12:21 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
John it is not so much the wind but flooding that we should be concerned about.
clamdigger
11:51 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
before you panic, keep this page handy;
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Brick&state=NJ&site=PHI&lat=40.0649&lon=-74.1174
Helen
12:05 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
clam - doesn't look so bad afterall- a lot of media hype going on .. .. must be helping a dear friend out by working everyone into a frenzy spending $$$ on emergency supplies to "boost" the economy and a certain someone's poll numbers. Hope this forecast is the accurate one.
clamdigger
12:26 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
I don't want to burst anyone's bubble or give a false sense of security, this is Mother nature after all so things can change. Please use common sense and by all means do the right thing and keep yourself and loved ones safe and secure.
Check that website often and use your best judgement
Spooner
12:57 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Like I posted clamdigger. . .looking at rain bands(egg shaped- elongated patent). . .most of the rain fall is over interior has storm approaches Morehead City, SC. . .so if the track holds with storm paralleling NJ coast there will be more rain inland than on the coast. . .but the storm surge in back bays would still have tidal+ effect on low lying areas. . .the problem being that storm sewers that drain roadways go into back bays, and if back bay "mean water elevation" is at or above roadway, there is no drainage. . .only accumulation, causing road flooding for starters.
clamdigger
9:35 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Hi Spooner,
if you are going to post info, add a link for people to see for themselves. Just becasue you added quotes in your origional comment, people have no idea where the info comes from, especially when it starts off the way yours did involving "blustery winds" and then the quote from the "Italian Ice" guy.
disgusted homeowner
4:27 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Scott, you're only saying that because you cannot swim. You failed swimming lessons in high school. I checked.
William J Moss
12:04 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Clamdigger Thank you very much just keyed my zip code for lacey and got all the information I needed Thank you again
jack
9:43 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Just watched Mayor Bloombergs speech. Christie I hoped you watch. That is how a professional acts. People are getting tired of your act.
Mark
9:50 am on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Jack...get over it already.
disgusted homeowner
4:29 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2011
He was just fresh every time he was on tv this week. Must have had a stomach ache or irregularity or something. And the blond lt. gov??? She never has anything to say, just stands there. I want her job.