DelDOT urges continued caution as roadway flooding recedes

DELAWARE – With recent storm surges across Delmarva, came flooding on many of the roads in the First State’s coastal areas.

“The storm continued to linger for days, and the ground became saturated. That’s when we really started to see the ground issues, and having roads flooded as a result,” said DelDOT Director of Community Relations, CR McLeod.

McLeod says near Bethany Beach, Fred Hudson Road was under about eight inches of water at one point. And, both north and southbound lanes of Route 1 between Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach were shut down for several hours, cutting off a major artery of traffic. McLeod says the lanes were closed out of an abundance of caution as water pushed onto the pavement.

“That is the longest possible detour in the state. There’s really no other viable, easy alternative. It really can take upwards of an hour in either direction, if you’re working your way inland via either Roue 9, Route 24, or Route 26 to 113 to make your way North or South,” said McLeod. “That’s really why it’s so crucial for us to preserve the ability of Route 1 to be open. We have launched that SR 1 preservation study, and we just had a workshop about it, talking about this very issue.”

Most of the flooding has receded at this point, says McLeod. But, the clean up isn’t quite over yet.

“We need some sunshine now to dry us out. There could still be some puddles and ponding in areas where we did see some water,” said McLeod. “The other thing we’re actually out doing, believe it or not, is if folks see our plow trucks, we’re not gearing up for snow just yet. But, we’ve actually had to use those to move debris off the roads.”

As the clean up continues, McLeod urges drivers to keep an eye out for any of that debris, including sticks, branches, and trash. He says it can cause hazards like flat tires. So, McLeod asks drivers to proceed with caution.