(Oct. 6, 2016) As most of the lower shore is anticipating what, if anything, Hurricane Matthew could bring, Snow Hill continues to deal with the aftermath of last week’s strong storms that left most of the north end of town under water.
Those waters have begun to recede, as the Worcester County Sheriff’s office announced Tuesday evening that Snow Hill Road north of the drawbridge was open to traffic. It had been closed by the State Highway Administration last Friday.
However, the road is not open in its entirety. A section west of Mt. Olive Road remains impassible because of a large washout, cutting the town off from Salisbury.
Also, the drawbridge is currently inoperable, and therefore closed to marine traffic, because the flooding destroyed the motor. The SHA said it would take a few weeks to repair.
“The area has a bunch of 42-inch drainage pipes that were scheduled to be replaced next year,” Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the State Highway Administration said.
That schedule has been expedited, he said, but the SHA is still waiting to see what the weather will do this weekend before making firm plans on the repair schedule.
Gischlar said it would take three or four weeks to restore the road to its original condition.
“We’re also addressing areas with lane washouts with rip rap — those aren’t a big deal,” he said. “In other cases, it’s like trying to hold back the ocean with a broom.”
However, the truck carrying the riprap may have aided the deteriorating conditions that led to the washout of Snow Hill Road.
The waterlogged soil began washing away, causing a sinkhole in the road that quickly widened into a total breach. Gischlar said he could not deny the truck, carrying a large volume of rip rap to effect repairs on multiple fronts during the deluge, might have exacerbated the erosion in the area of Mt. Olive Road.
“That was first built 30 to 50 years ago,” Gischlar said. “We use different materials and methodologies now. We’ll have to do the design and get the materials. We’re very cognizant of what needs to happen, but we may not start until after we know what Matthew is going to do, because then all of our work may be for naught.”
Gischlar said all other roads along Route 12, with the exception of the washed-out area, are open to traffic, as of Wednesday morning.
The river engulfed nearby Byrd Park almost entirely on Thursday, and the surging river caused a “combined sewage overflow” of more than 10,000 gallons at the adjacent wastewater treatment plant. Residents were warned to avoid contact with the floodwaters because of this and other contamination, until the advisory was lifted Wednesday morning.
“To put it in perspective here in Worcester, we have a washout of whatever was in the flood zone potentially washing into the river. You have solids: logs, branches, debris, even natural scat like deer spore if they lay in an area that was washed out,” Bob Mitchell, director of environmental services for Worcester County said. “There are many contributing elements to what is in the creek in the churning floodwaters that are moving through our county at the present.”
Though Wicomico, Salisbury and other points northward of Snow Hill in Maryland aren’t seeing overflow from wastewater treatment plants, the water is undoubtedly dirty.
It’s also moving quickly, which led to the complete cancellation of the Delmarva Paddling Weekend, which is a project that had been in the works for months.
“We knew we needed to cancel because the water was going to keep running all weekend — even if the sun was out, the water will keep running — it’s too dangerous,” Jim Rapp, event organizer, said last Friday. “We might do something later in the fall, like a Delmarva Paddling Weekend Lite.”
Rapp said the event would return next year.
Furnace Town, however, remained open and the Celtic Festival was held last Saturday and Sunday.
In Berlin, the only casualty of the storm was one of the four generators at the power plant, which had flooded previously under different circumstances in 2012. Managing Director Jeff Fleetwood said insurance will likely cover the repairs, and no service interruptions were caused due to the loss of the generator.
Elsewhere in Berlin, Fleetwood said recent stormwater improvements on Flower Street, which include a large retention pond, passed a major first test of sorts, last weekend.
“That seems to be doing its job,” he said. “There’s just water everywhere, [but] the only thing I can honestly tell you that took damage is that one generator.”
Pocomoke City had no major incidents, according to City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot, and the Pocomoke-toberfest event at the fairgrounds went off without a hitch, according to Michelle Hickman of the chamber of commerce.
Those waters have begun to recede, as the Worcester County Sheriff’s office announced Tuesday evening that Snow Hill Road north of the drawbridge was open to traffic. It had been closed by the State Highway Administration last Friday.
However, the road is not open in its entirety. A section west of Mt. Olive Road remains impassible because of a large washout, cutting the town off from Salisbury.
Also, the drawbridge is currently inoperable, and therefore closed to marine traffic, because the flooding destroyed the motor. The SHA said it would take a few weeks to repair.
“The area has a bunch of 42-inch drainage pipes that were scheduled to be replaced next year,” Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the State Highway Administration said.
That schedule has been expedited, he said, but the SHA is still waiting to see what the weather will do this weekend before making firm plans on the repair schedule.
Gischlar said it would take three or four weeks to restore the road to its original condition.
“We’re also addressing areas with lane washouts with rip rap — those aren’t a big deal,” he said. “In other cases, it’s like trying to hold back the ocean with a broom.”
However, the truck carrying the riprap may have aided the deteriorating conditions that led to the washout of Snow Hill Road.
The waterlogged soil began washing away, causing a sinkhole in the road that quickly widened into a total breach. Gischlar said he could not deny the truck, carrying a large volume of rip rap to effect repairs on multiple fronts during the deluge, might have exacerbated the erosion in the area of Mt. Olive Road.
“That was first built 30 to 50 years ago,” Gischlar said. “We use different materials and methodologies now. We’ll have to do the design and get the materials. We’re very cognizant of what needs to happen, but we may not start until after we know what Matthew is going to do, because then all of our work may be for naught.”
Gischlar said all other roads along Route 12, with the exception of the washed-out area, are open to traffic, as of Wednesday morning.
The river engulfed nearby Byrd Park almost entirely on Thursday, and the surging river caused a “combined sewage overflow” of more than 10,000 gallons at the adjacent wastewater treatment plant. Residents were warned to avoid contact with the floodwaters because of this and other contamination, until the advisory was lifted Wednesday morning.
“To put it in perspective here in Worcester, we have a washout of whatever was in the flood zone potentially washing into the river. You have solids: logs, branches, debris, even natural scat like deer spore if they lay in an area that was washed out,” Bob Mitchell, director of environmental services for Worcester County said. “There are many contributing elements to what is in the creek in the churning floodwaters that are moving through our county at the present.”
Though Wicomico, Salisbury and other points northward of Snow Hill in Maryland aren’t seeing overflow from wastewater treatment plants, the water is undoubtedly dirty.
It’s also moving quickly, which led to the complete cancellation of the Delmarva Paddling Weekend, which is a project that had been in the works for months.
“We knew we needed to cancel because the water was going to keep running all weekend — even if the sun was out, the water will keep running — it’s too dangerous,” Jim Rapp, event organizer, said last Friday. “We might do something later in the fall, like a Delmarva Paddling Weekend Lite.”
Rapp said the event would return next year.
Furnace Town, however, remained open and the Celtic Festival was held last Saturday and Sunday.
In Berlin, the only casualty of the storm was one of the four generators at the power plant, which had flooded previously under different circumstances in 2012. Managing Director Jeff Fleetwood said insurance will likely cover the repairs, and no service interruptions were caused due to the loss of the generator.
Elsewhere in Berlin, Fleetwood said recent stormwater improvements on Flower Street, which include a large retention pond, passed a major first test of sorts, last weekend.
“That seems to be doing its job,” he said. “There’s just water everywhere, [but] the only thing I can honestly tell you that took damage is that one generator.”
Pocomoke City had no major incidents, according to City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot, and the Pocomoke-toberfest event at the fairgrounds went off without a hitch, according to Michelle Hickman of the chamber of commerce.