Some changes are in store for the Brandywine River Museum of Art. And those changes should make access to the museum easier for some people.
The Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board last week granted a waiver to the museum to allow fill (soil) to be used in the flood plain to regrade the main entrance to the museum’s courtyard so that entrance can be ADA compliant and used by people in wheelchairs. A request for the variance was made because the Sept. 1, 2021, flooding from Hurricane Ida ruined the museum’s ground floor so that it can no longer be used by the public. Other buildings on the conservancy’s Chadds Ford campus were damaged in the flood and some may be demolished.
But the focus of the hearing was for the variance to use fill in a flood plain, though there are also changes planned for the courtyard.
Project engineer Marc Henderson said an estimated 460 cubic yards of fill would be used to flatten the grade by extending the walkway and making it a smoother paved surface. The regraded surface would be hardscaped, while any area of exposed fill would be landscaped, he said.
Planned changes to the courtyard include removing the cobblestones for a smoother surface, and the current wooden walls would be replaced. The project involves only the entrance and courtyard and will not involve other buildings.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
