May 7, 2014

PennDOT can’t stop the Brandywine Creek from rising, but engineers say they can improve the crossing at Route 926.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been talking for years about replacing the bridge at Route 926 and it appears the agency is prepared to actually get to work by this time next year.

Engineers from Gannet Flemming, the company contracted by PennDOT, addressed an audience at Pocopson Elementary School to explain the current plan for upgrading the bridge and its approaches. The result, they said, would reduce how often the crossing is shut down because of flooding.

Engineer Frank Eells provided the basic details of the plan. The approaches to the bridge on both sides — in Pocopson and Birmingham townships — will be raised approximately two feet and the bridge itself will be raised by about eight feet. There will be two 11-foot wide lanes and two five-foot wide shoulders.

In addition, two new culverts will be installed over Radley Run in Birmingham Township and a stretch of Creek Road, north of 926, will be relocated a little further to the west, closer to the creek.

Replacing the bridge is needed for two reasons, Eells said. In addition to the flooding, there are structural problems. Several years ago the bridge’s weight limit was reduced because of those structural concerns.

Eells said there would still be flooding, but fewer road closings. He said flooding currently causes the road to be closed three to 10 times per year. With the raised bridge and approaches, that would be reduced dramatically.

Under the plan, computer models show only three flood events in the last 22 years — hurricanes Floyd and Irene, plus last week’s storm — would have forced Route 926 to be closed, Eells said.

He added that with the new design, and culverts for Radley Run, flooding that has been taking a day-and-a-half to abate would be finished in about six hours.

There are still some permitting issues involved that will prevent the start of construction until the spring of next year — well after the Route 52 roundabout project is finished. Once begun, the work is expected to take about 18 months, weather permitting.

The official detour would have motorists use routes 1 and 52 to cross the Brandywine.

Scott Boorse, a Birmingham Township supervisor, is ready for work to start ASAP.

“Let’s get this started,” he said after the meeting. “It’s a good plan. The sooner they start the sooner it will be done. PennDOT did a good job in listening to the two townships involved. It needs to be done.”

Not everyone is as psyched about the project as Boorse. Many people expressed strong concerns, mostly about the use of Route 52 and the Lenape Bridge as part of the official detour.

Several said the bridge at Route 52 is way too narrow to handle the increased volume or large trucks. Tractor-trailers frequently can’t negotiate a left turn onto Creek Road from the bridge now, residents said.

Pocopson Township is requesting PennDOT install a temporary traffic light, but that request is new and there’s been no decision yet.

Other people said they were concerned about getting solid information on the project and asked for a Web site to be set up for that purpose. Officials said that’s not normally done, but it might be possible.

Another concern that’s been discussed for as long as the project itself is what would happen with school buses that cross at Route 926. Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Business Manager Robert Cochran said the district would make its plans once it knows exactly what it will be facing.

The heavy rain on April 30 and overnight into May 1 did what such rains often do, force the Brandywine Creek to spill its banks and flood Routes 1 and 926.

Crossing the creek into or out of Chadds Ford Township was not an easy task for the impatient. Getting into Chadds Ford from Kennett Square took two-and-a-half hours that Thursday morning and at least two motorists had to be rescued Wednesday night when they stalled out crossing through the flooded intersection at Route 1. They were cited for ignoring the roadblock signs.

While the roadways opened up later in the day Thursday, businesses in the area were down for a lot longer.

Leader’s Sunoco faired the best. While there was flooding at the station, Jim Leader and his team got everything cleaned up that afternoon and were ready to pump gas again the following morning. Leader said they could re-open Thursday, but they were out of gas and the flooding prevented the fuel trucks from getting to him Thursday when they were scheduled.

Hank’s Place was shut down for two days, but other businesses were suffering into the first part of this week.

The little strip mall with the U.S. Post Office, Bryn Mawr Trust Bank and Fellini’s was hit hard. Basement flooding caused power and phone outages and portable toilets had to be brought in because wastewater was backing up, one source said.

The Post Office was without computers, phone or scales into Monday as was the bank. Bryn Mawr Trust account holders could make deposits, however, though the bank was without computers, power and Internet service.

On the other side of Leader’s, the Environmental Management Center of the Brandywine Conservancy was uninhabitable. Basement flooding zapped the electricity and knocked out the furnace.

Director of Public Relations Hillary Holland said the power panel was replaced and as of Tuesday morning, they were just waiting for PEO to give the go-ahead for the building to be powered up.

Holland also said there had been some apprehension regarding the annual Native Plant Sale set for this weekend. Some of the plants were washed away, but she said most were recovered and the inventory shows no significant loss.

Photo: Route 1 at Creek Road is shut down due to flooding. As the song says “Same as it ever was.”