FENWICK ISLAND – Officials say the results of a state-led resiliency study have been finalized.
In her report last Friday, Fenwick Island Mayor Natalie Magdeburger presented an update on the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Route 1 Coastal Corridor Resiliency Study. As plans to address sea level rise and flooding are finalized, she said the town would continue to work with the state agency as it advocates for its bayside residents.
“DelDOT has finished their resiliency study plans,” she said. “What we’ve seen in the past has a lot of concern for us because they have created basically a seawall with deployables along the western side of the highway, which would leave all of our bayside community on the waterside of any rising sea level.”
Last year, DelDOT applied for, and was awarded, a grant to conduct a resiliency study of Route 1. The goal of the DelDOT study, the agency reports, is to examine the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise on transportation infrastructure and to incorporate resiliency measures in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of projects.
“DelDOT has been and continues to be challenged by the effects of sea-level rise and frequently flooded roadways,” a statement reads. “And the SR1 corridor between Dewey Beach and the Maryland state line is particularly vulnerable with effects coming from oceanside as well as bayside.”
The statement continues, “This section of SR1 is a primary evacuation route for Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, and Ocean City, Maryland. This planning study will allow the Delaware Department of Transportation to develop short and long-term solutions to help protect this important roadway …”
In a workshop this spring, DelDOT presented the public with a range of mitigation alternatives to improve resiliency along Route 1, including seawalls and structural dunes. Since that time, the town has asked the state to elaborate how the plan would impact bayside residences and businesses.
“We’re anxious to see what their final plans are,” she said. “We’ve not heard if there were any changes from the last two meetings. The next meeting is September 26.”
The DelDOT resiliency study is just one of several studies being conducted by regional agencies. Just this year, for example, the Town of Fenwick Island completed its own resiliency study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also completing a back bay study.
