SALISBURY, Md. - Wicomico County Emergency Services has announced the closing of North Salisbury Boulevard (Business Route 13) at Priscilla Street due to flooding on the Peggy Branch Thursday.
Emergency Services says traffic is being detoured at Priscilla Street and asks drivers to not attempt driving through the water.
As of 8 a.m., southbound traffic on Rt. 13 was seeing backups on the City’s main artery. As of Thursday afternoon, the road remained closed.
The intersection of North Salisbury Boulevard and Priscilla St. was previously closed for days in December due to similar flooding issues. Nearby businesses say the flooding on the Peggy Branch seems to be increasingly common.
"It's been more frequent, and we've been at this location for 13 years," said Tom Gilroy, manager at Grant's Service Center.
The detours frustrated motorists and customers trying to patronize businesses along the closed stretch of road.
"I had to drive all the way to the north end of town and come back, get here through a back road and walk a couple blocks after I parked," said Thomas Vaccaro, who had business at the Cell Phone Depot.
Business managers said that the city, county, and state authorities need to take a closer look at the Peggy Branch itself, and ways to improve stream flow and drainage as the weather and tide patters seemingly change.
"Some people say maybe you could put a little bridge here; I don't think that's quite the answer, either," said Wayne Meade, a service advisor at nearby Caliber Collision. "I think we need to look at the river itself. I don't think it's deep enough to handle these heavy rains we've been getting."
Until solutions are found, business on North Salisbury Boulevard near Peggy Branch will struggle when the downpours fall and the rivers rise.
"Well, we don't get customers who come in to get their vehicles repaired or anything. So it really hurts our business, so yeah, big time," Gilroy lamented.
WBOC will continue to monitor the flooding and will update this article throughout the day.
Meteorologist John Conway contributed to this story.