NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Two blocks of Joyce Kilmer Avenue were closed to traffic today as two cars were consumed by a flash flood near the avenue’s bridge over Mile Run.

The bridge, located near the intersection with Charles Street, was re-built in an attempt to curtail the frequent flooding in 2008, but the area still suffers from some of the worst flooding in the city.

Residents today said that the flooding is worse than it was before the attempt to fix the problem.  

The last time the intersection flooded was nearly a year ago, during Hurricane Irene.  Today’s flooding was initially reported by police via their Nixle notification service at 1:30pm.

At about 3pm, water was still gushing from a storm sewer located across from the Greater Brunswick Charter School.  Authorities from the city’s police and fire departments were on hand, as well as the Department of Public Works.

The water eventually receded and city police re-opened the muddy road to traffic shortly before 6:30pm.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.