Some Outages, Blockages Resolved in Lower Merion and Narberth

Update 10:40 a.m.: Lower Merion Township reports power outages have been reduced from 4,800 to about 2,600, and the Hollow Road on-ramp to the Schuylkill Expressway remains closed, as do about 40 side streets throughout the township.

Nine traffic signals are out, at the following intersections:

• St. Asaphs Road at Monument Road
• St. Asaphs Road at Decker Blvd.
• Haverford Road at Remington Road
• Montgomery Avenue at Woodbine Avenue
• Old Gulph Road at Bryn Mawr
• New Gulph Road at Morris Avenue
• Conshohocken State Road at Mill Creek Road
• Conshohocken State Road at Hollow Rd
• Conshohocken State Road at Woodbine Avenue

5:45 a.m.: Repair crews made progress Wednesday in helping return Lower Merion and Narberth life to normal after the siege of Hurricane Sandy, but many power outages and road blockages—and a few key facility closures—remained into Thursday.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, about 4,800 PECO customers out of 22,000 in Lower Merion still had no electricity, township police reported. The figure had been closer to 12,000 Tuesday morning, then 7,700 Tuesday afternoon and 5,300 late Wednesday morning.

It was not clear where the remaining outages were concentrated, though many of the non-working traffic signals in town were on Conshohocken State Road through Penn Valley and Gladwyne. A few were fixed Wednesday.

Perhaps the most prominent power outages were at Harriton High School and several other Lower Merion School District buildings. Late Wednesday, the district had planne to hold classes for every school but Harriton, but early Thursday morning it shifted to a full cancellation.

Harcum College also reported via its website it will remain closed through Saturday, citing "storm damage". Most other local colleges and schools planned to resume classes Wednesday or Thursday.

Narberth had only a handful of power outages remaining by Wednesday, borough manager Bill Martin said. The borough seemed to have been hit less hard than many other Main Line places; its government office even stayed open during the storm.

Grocery stores throughout Lower Merion and Narberth did business as normal on Wednesday, as did some other retail shops.

Crews unblocked Montgomery Avenue in Penn Valley Wednesday morning, after power lines and poles had fallen there during the storm, and a blockage of Lancaster Avenue at City Avenue that lasted most of Wednesday was removed by early evening. The entire lengths of Lancaster and Montgomery avenues and Conshohocken State Road were cleared by 5 p.m., township officials reported.

The on-ramp to the Schuylkill Expressway from Hollow Road in Penn Valley—Exit 337 or the "Gladwyne" exit, as the signs say—remained closed Wednesday evening. A broken power and downed power lines blocked entry. The ramp from the expressway was still in service.

Other road closures on Wednesday included:

• Mill Creek Road, for nearly its entire length, except between Conshohocken State and Righters Mill roads
• Old Gulph Road, east of Ithan Avenue in Bryn Mawr
• Williamson Road, east of Morris Avenue in Bryn Mawr
• Remington Road, east of Haverford Road in Wynnewood

River Road was open after having been evacuated during the storm. The Schuylkill River lapped up the boat ramp at Flat Rock Park on Wednesday.

What's been fixed in your neighborhood? What still doesn't work? Tell us in the comments section below.