DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. - Dorchester County is applying for more than $1.3 million in federal funding to address flooding on roads in the southern part of the county.
The County Council is submitting their application to the U.S. Department of Transportation Friday night. Most of the money would pay for a plan identifying areas that flood frequently in southern Dorchester County.
If awarded, the money would also go toward design improvements for the Hoopers Island Road causeway and Elliott Island Road. It would pay for design only, not construction.
For first responders, flooded roads can slow response times. Adam Tolley, president of the Dorchester County Volunteer Firefighters Association, wrote a letter supporting the application.
Tolley, who has spent 34 years in the fire service, said flooding is happening more often. He said the plan would catalog problem areas, which would help guide what the county, state and federal governments need to do.
"It [flooding] can happen when people aren't aware of it,” Tolley said. “And so if you're responding to a scene and the route that you were going to take is blocked by flooding and you don't know it, then that significantly impacts our response time. And when we're dealing with emergency responses, minutes matter.”
But Tolley said the grant would not only affect the volunteer companies in the southern part of the county. He said the county relies on mutual aid, meaning it is often not just one company responding to a scene, but multiple companies.
Distances between companies are already significant. According to Tolley, Dorchester County has more than 600 miles of roadway, and Tolley said it is one of the state’s largest counties by land mass, including land and water.
Tolley said the plan cannot wait.
“We're seeing this happen more and more, and it would only take one incident,” Tolley said. “You know, that would really impact somebody and somebody not, you know, to lose their life because we can't get there because of a flood. So, I mean, it's people's lives that are in danger that we need to make sure that we get this planning done as quickly as possible.
Flooding also affects daily life in the area. David Beverley, a southern Dorchester resident, who also owns Elijia’s general store described what happens during major tidal events.
“Major tidal events actually also affects many things like from EMS, fire, public school has to close early because the bus routes get interrupted because when we know there’s a major tidal event coming,” Beverley said. “When it comes in reference to our store here, people can’t get food from us here at the store, regular grocery store supplies, but they also can’t make it to more larger institutions up in the Cambridge area. Doctor’s appointments get cancelled.”
Beverley said he has written a letter of support for the grant funding on behalf of his store.
Maryland members of Congress are also sending a letter as part of the submission. They say many of the roads are the only way to reach vital services.
