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Updated 12 p.m. Friday:
Flood waters from the Delaware River have receded enough that Easton officials have reopened North Third Street to traffic. Lafayette visitors can now access the campus via that route.
According to National Weather Service measurements at 11 a.m., the water level had dropped to 25 feet (three feet above the flood level). A flood warning is still in place until further notice.
Updated 8 a.m. Friday:
The water level of the Delaware River continues to subside. Measurements taken at 7:30 a.m. by the National Weather Service show the river dropping to just under 28 feet. It is expected to fall below the flood level of 22 feet tonight.
North Third Street will remain closed until flooding ends. Access to campus from Route 22 can be made by taking 13th Street.
A flood warning remains in effect until tonight, and the mandatory water restriction will continue until officials remove it.
The river peaked at 37.09 feet at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, making this the fourth highest crest on record and the third significant flood in two years.
Updated 3 p.m. Thursday, June 29:
According to the National Weather Service, the Delaware River is cresting and its water level should start to subside late Thursday afternoon. It should fall below the flood level late Friday.
The river’s level this afternoon at the Easton-Phillipsburg bridge was 36.8 feet, which is 14.8 feet above flood stage and more than a foot higher than predicted this morning by the weather service (although earlier predictions had the river cresting as high as 38.9 feet). A flood warning will remain in effect until Friday evening.
North Third Street, which local authorities closed Wednesday, will remain closed until the flooding ends. It is very unlikely that access to campus from Route 22 via 13th street will be blocked by flooding.
Original article posted 10 a.m. Thursday, June 29:
Flooding has caused local authorities to close North Third Street, shutting off access to campus via that route as listed on the directions page.
The Delaware River, which overflowed its banks yesterday, is scheduled to crest before noon today, according to Easton Fire Department officials. If it crests at 35.5 feet (13.5 feet above flood stage), as currently predicted by the National Weather Service, it is likely that access to campus from Route 22 via 13th street will remain open.
Here are directions to Markle Hall, in the heart of campus, home of the admissions office and main administration building, via the 13th Street exit from Route 22. At the traffic light shortly after the end of the ramp at the 13th Street exit, turn left onto North 13th Street. Turn right onto Lafayette Street (this turn is past the right turn for Bushkill Drive). Turn right onto Hamilton Street. Turn right onto High Street, then turn right onto the parking deck, located behind Markle Hall.
No power outages or other interruptions in the functioning of campus systems have occurred during the recent heavy rains or present major flooding downtown, therefore there has been little or no disruption for Lafayette’s students, faculty, and administration or for outside groups using campus facilities. Easton officials and the Easton Suburban Water Authority issued a mandatory water restriction, indicating that people in the city and Easton Suburban customers should restrict water use to “absolutely necessary consumption” and fire protection. The water plant will use stored water supplies until the flooding abates and water treatment operations can return to normal, officials said.
Several Lafayette properties in the North Third Street area have been affected by the flooding, according to Bruce Ferretti, director of plant operations. The first floor of the Williams Visual Arts Building was flooded with about a foot of water before 9 a.m. today, but steps had been taken yesterday to remove the contents of the first floor and bring them to safe places on WVAB’s second floor and other locations.
According to Registrar Frank Benginia, the Ad & Promo Design course taught by Lewis Minter, director of the media lab at the WVAB, was canceled Wednesday due to the flooding. Wednesday was the final day of class for the course, and Benginia believes there will be no other class disruptions at WVAB or any other buildings on campus.
Ferretti said water had also gotten into the basements of the Jac & Co. building and the former Easton Printing Co. building, in the first floor of the former Club Mohican building, and in garages to the east of the former Case’s Tire building. Steps had been taken prior to the flooding to relocate things stored in these areas.
An unoccupied Lafayette apartment on Nevin Terrace was inundated by water from the Bushkill Creek, and one student room in Kamine Hall in the Sullivan Lane Residential Village on the College Hill campus was affected by water from recent rains.
Steps will be taken as soon as the waters recede to clean, disinfect, and make necessary repairs to all affected areas in flooded buildings, Ferretti says.