NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—City firefighters rescued an unidentified woman who had become trapped as she climbed up one of the two Route 1 bridges connecting Edison and New Brunswick, according to a report on TapInto New Brunswick.
The woman was apparently climbing the arches of the Morris Goodkind bridge, which carries cars along Route 1 North over the Raritan River, when the New Brunswick Fire Department (NBFD) recieved a call on October 21.
According to the TapInto report, officials said the original call was for “a female stuck in the fence at the Loews Theater,” which would be located on the Southbound side of the highway.
But by the time help arrived, the situation was much more severe.
“Arriving units found that she had climbed into the arches of the bridge and could not get back to a catwalk to get down,” reads the report, citing NBFD Deputy Fire Chief Tom Lopardo.
Lopardo told the online news outlet that, “She couldn’t get herself out.” The call came in at 6:45 p.m., but the report did not say who made the call.
According to the report, the state government says the arches underneath the bridge reach heights of about 100 feet above the river.
“She climbed the bridge underneath and couldn’t get herself down,” Lopardo was quoted as saying.
According to the report, Lopardo says his team “set up a rope system” and put the woman on a “safety line” during the two-hour rescue, in order to bring her safely to the catwalk.
The city government did not issue any type of alert or press release related to the incident.
The 1,900-foot-long bridge was built in 1929 and was originally known as College Bridge.
It was renamed after its designer Morris Goodkind, whose son Donald went on to design the neighboring Route 1 South bridge that has since been named for him.
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.
