SUSSEX COUNTY, DE -- For a few hours on Monday, October 13th, sections of Route 1 were closed due to bayside flooding, according to DelDOT officials. The road has since been cleared, but, with the storm in the rearview mirror, some people told WBOC they are hopeful state leaders will find solutions to prevent future issues.
The highway was closed from the intersection at Fred Hudson Road in Bethany Beach to Tower Road just south of Dewey Beach, according to officials. It is important to note that the flooding was not caused by a dune breach on the oceanside of the road.
"This time, it was a result of back bay flooding," Shanté Hastings, DelDOT Secretary, told WBOC Tuesday. "Water was actually coming from the bay and funneling through our drainage system, and then coming through the medians and the ditches and covering Route 1 with water in certain areas."
Some neighbors told WBOC what the flooding was like yesterday.
"It was horrible," Yiping Yang, who lives near Bethany Beach, said.
Yang said, while he appreciates the work state leaders are doing on the dune and the oceanside of Route 1, he is hopeful they will also target the bayside of the road.
"I think you definitely need to do them both," Yang said.
Stephanie Winn, who also lives in the area, agreed. Winn said it's important to keep a main roadway, like Route 1, clear at all times.
"They need to do something so it doesn't flood as badly, because it's not gonna get any better," Winn said. "They need to try and keep it from doing that so that people are able to travel without getting stuck or getting where they need to go, especially in an emergency."
Secretary Hastings told WBOC that Governor Matt Meyer has tasked DelDOT with finding solutions for bayside flooding on the road, as well as continuing work on the oceanside.
"We've been looking at different types of solutions and looking into elevating sections of Route 1," Hastings said. "These are very spot locations, so it's not like all of Route 1 has water on it. There are these very concentrated, probably 100 of to 200-foot sections. So we're looking at strategic locations."
"There is flooding in locations that we haven't seen before," Hastings continued. "So that's part of it. You've got to strategize and figure out exactly where we're going to make that type of investment."
Hastings said no final solutions have been decided on, and that officials are still weighing options on what sections of the road may need raising in the future. Hastings noted they have elevated sections of Route 1 before.
"You have to make sure that the sections you raise don't have negative impacts on the adjacent properties, especially south of the bridge, where you have some residential communities. But we are working on it." Hastings said.