(Nov. 24, 2016) After more than one month of winding, weaving and exploring the back roads between Snow Hill and Salisbury, the most direct route between the towns, Snow Hill Road, was finally reopened to traffic this past Friday.
Last month while most of the lower shore’s eyes were squarely focused on Hurricane Matthew, which ended up not having a great impact on the area, a line of strong storms struck Snow Hill, leaving some areas — particularly the north end of town — hip deep in the Pocomoke River.
A few miles to the north a different kind of trouble was brewing, as a recently-paved section of Snow Hill Road near Mt. Olive Church Road was washed away by the deluge, leaving a canyon impassible to automobiles. Residents in the area between the washout and the town were all but stranded for a few days until the waters receded, or they ventured onto the back roads of the county.
Charlie Gischlar, State Highway Administration spokesman, said at the time old infrastructure beneath the roads was the primary cause for the road giving way.
During the heavy rains, the SHA was reinforcing many of its roads against the heavy downpour with rip-rap, or softball-sized rocks. Those rocks were delivered by trucks, and were extremely heavy. The weight of the trucks may have played a role in the erosion leading to the washout, Gischlar said.
More to blame, Gischlar said, were the 42-inch drainage pipes under the affected road, which were due to be replaced anyway. Those pipes had been in place since the road was first built, and were about 50 years old, he said.
The SHA has since updated its design guidelines, and the replaced road now conforms to those improved standards.
Work began quickly to repair the road, and the early estimates of between three to four weeks to complete the project proved to be close to the mark.
Drivers had two routes to get north to Salisbury from Snow Hill. The official detour took commuters down Old Furnace Road onto Millville Road, which merged back into Snow Hill Road. Perhaps less well known was another route, from Mt. Olive Church Road eventually onto Airport Road and back onto Snow Hill Road.
Last month while most of the lower shore’s eyes were squarely focused on Hurricane Matthew, which ended up not having a great impact on the area, a line of strong storms struck Snow Hill, leaving some areas — particularly the north end of town — hip deep in the Pocomoke River.
A few miles to the north a different kind of trouble was brewing, as a recently-paved section of Snow Hill Road near Mt. Olive Church Road was washed away by the deluge, leaving a canyon impassible to automobiles. Residents in the area between the washout and the town were all but stranded for a few days until the waters receded, or they ventured onto the back roads of the county.
Charlie Gischlar, State Highway Administration spokesman, said at the time old infrastructure beneath the roads was the primary cause for the road giving way.
During the heavy rains, the SHA was reinforcing many of its roads against the heavy downpour with rip-rap, or softball-sized rocks. Those rocks were delivered by trucks, and were extremely heavy. The weight of the trucks may have played a role in the erosion leading to the washout, Gischlar said.
More to blame, Gischlar said, were the 42-inch drainage pipes under the affected road, which were due to be replaced anyway. Those pipes had been in place since the road was first built, and were about 50 years old, he said.
The SHA has since updated its design guidelines, and the replaced road now conforms to those improved standards.
Work began quickly to repair the road, and the early estimates of between three to four weeks to complete the project proved to be close to the mark.
Drivers had two routes to get north to Salisbury from Snow Hill. The official detour took commuters down Old Furnace Road onto Millville Road, which merged back into Snow Hill Road. Perhaps less well known was another route, from Mt. Olive Church Road eventually onto Airport Road and back onto Snow Hill Road.