UPDATE: Valley Road Reopens After Crash

A barricaded section of Valley Road in Bernards Township, a portion of the roadway between Stone House Road and  Acken Road, remained shut off to most traffic for hours after it was due to repen, police said.

Valley Road opened at about 9 p.m., Lt. Mike Shimsky, who also heads the township's Office of Emergency Management, said later in the night.

At 11:40 a.m. on Friday, issued a notification that Valley Road (County Route 512) in Bernards Township was currently closed between Acken Road and Stonehouse Road as a result of a motor vehicle crash that resulted in a severed utility pole.

At that time, Jersey Central Power & Light and Verizon workers were at the location working to restore the pole and reopen the road, said Shimsky.

The project to repair the road was expected to take four to six hours, Shimsky said earlier in the day, between 11:30 a.m. and noon.

Police Chief Brian Bobowicz said the crash involved one vehicle, driven by a sole female occupant, hitting the one Verizon telephone pole at 9:18 a.m. on Friday.

JCPL workers reportedly told police they had happened to be driving by and stopped to assist by partially securing the pole which is owned by and the responsibility of Verizon, the chief said.

Verizon was on scene at noon attempting to replace pole and transfer utility lines.

The female driver, with minor injuries, was transported to Morristown Medical Center, Shimsky said.

No power outages reported, police say

No power outages were reported at that time, he said.

Patch will continue to update this story as more information is available.