Commuter bus fire closes part of Route 78 Thursday

UNION (Union) — A commuter bus from Pennsylvania closed down a section of Route 78 during the Thursday morning commute.

Video footage by ABC 7 Eyewitness News showed the bus parked and fully engulfed in the eastbound inner lanes where the road splits into local and express lanes in Union Township.

The express lanes were closed as of 8 a.m.  but were reopened around 8:30 a.m. Eastbound local lanes remained open to traffic but were slow with rubberneckers.

The bus appeared was operated by Trans Bridge Lines based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which runs a daily schedule of buses into New York. The company told New Jersey 101.5 36 passengers were on board, and none were injured.

The bus had left Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown at 5:35 a.m. and made stops at a Park and Ride in Bethlehem and in Clinton before continuing on 78 east to Wall Street, the bus said.

All passengers were moved to another bus to continue their trip into New York, according to the company.

The closure and fire also caused delays on Route 24 approaching Route 78.

The fire compounded delays on Route 78 west that had already developed because of an ongoing emergency road project on an overpass west of Route 24. DOT spokesman Stephen Schapiro told New Jersey 101.5 there was a low hanging utility pipe under the bridge that created an unsafe condition.

State Police spokesman Jeff Flynn said a witness reported a tire blew out and caught fire.