Cleanup From Storm Continuing Saturday

Removing down branches, trees, and utility equipment continued Saturday morning around the Levittown area.

The nor’easter that battered the area Friday brought a mix of heavy rain, snow, and high winds. The snowfall amounts varied from nearly nothing in Bristol Borough to as much as two inches in Langhorne. The strong winds and gusts caused damage throughout local communities.

PECO reported approximately 6,100 customers were without power in the Levittown area as of noon Saturday. Crews and contractors working for the utility company were out making repairs to get service restored.

A statement from PECO said it activated its emergency response operation Friday and “all available personnel” were working to restore electric service throughout the region.

Downed trees and utility wires caused problems throughout the Levittown area, as LevittownNow.com reported Friday evening.

A tree caused a large amount of damage when it fell and crushed a portion of a house in the 100 block of Playwicki Street in Middletown’s Parkland section. Aside from the damage to the home, power lines were also taken down by the tree. No injuries were reported.

In Bristol Township’s Levittown section, a tree crashed down across Blue Ridge Drive Friday and was later cleared.

SEPTA’s West Trenton and Trenton Regional Rail lines that serve the Levittown area were having problems as of noon Saturday.

Commuters who were not able to leave work in the city early Friday afternoon were unable to take the trains home as the day went on, SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel said during a Saturday morning press conference in Philadelphia.

He said crews were working along the West Trenton Line, one of SEPTA’s longest, to clear downed trees that had caused service to be suspended starting Friday afternoon.

Around noon Saturday, limited service was restored along the Trenton Line. SEPTA officials warned that delays and crowded conditions were to be expected.

Knueppel said Amtrak, who owns the Trenton Line that SEPTA uses, had crews out Saturday working as quick as possible to restore service.

Service on many modes of transportation that SEPTA operates was down Friday afternoon as the storm conditions intensified, Knueppel said.

“We tried to keep things running. I don’t think anyone anticipated that kind of storm that early,” he told reporters.

SEPTA officials said they would update a page on their website with storm-related information.

Heavy wet snow and high winds not only brought down trees but also overhead power equipment needed to keep rail service moving.

Amtrak said portions of their Northeast Corridor service that zips through Lower Bucks County were getting back on track as of late Saturday morning.